Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy
by Shanna1
Summary: Sara has a song stuck in her head. NS chapter 165 and 166 now up. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

'….. _Save a horse, ride a cowboy…' _ Sara sang softly.

"Excuse me?" Warrick who had stopped by to see how she was coming on their case questioned.

"What?" Sara turned around.

"You said something about a horse and riding a cowboy?" Warrick explained.

"It's Nick's fault."

"Be grateful I'm not Greg who would automatically jump to the wrong conclusions. I on the other hand will wait for an explanation."

"His Denali had a flat so I lent him mine, he switched the radio to a country station, which it is now stuck on and I ended up with the stupid Big & Rich song in my head when I went to get food earlier."

"I think Greg's explanation would have been more interesting." Warrick crossed his arms.

"Greg's explanation of what would be more interesting?" Nick asked from the doorway.

"As to why Sara wants to save a horse and ride a cowboy." Warrick replied.

Nick gave Sara a strange look.

"You changed the radio station in my Denali and now it's stuck on that station so I have that song stuck in my head." Sara explained.

"Right." Nick crossed his arms. "I wouldn't mention the whole cowboy thing around Greg he may get the wrong idea."

"That's just what I was saying." Warrick said as his pager went off. "Mia, DNA results are ready. Excuse me."

"Big & Rich?" Nick questioned once he was gone.

"It stuck in my head." Sara shrugged.

"I switched radio stations in your Denali almost a month ago when we drove out to Lake Mead for that picnic." Nick reminded her.

"I know, but I wasn't about to tell Warrick that was I. We took my car because yours had a flat, I just didn't mention a time frame."

"I see."

"So cowboy what are we doing later?" Sara inquired.

"It depends on which side of the whole saving a horse thing you fall on." He teased.

"I don't what kind of girl you think I am Nick, you at least have to buy me breakfast first." Sara winked at him.

"Well since it's our 6 month anniversary, I'd say breakfast was called for." He smiled.

"How did we manage six months without anyone finding out?" Sara asked.

"We know how to hide the evidence." His pager went off. "Archie. So come and find me when you're done."

"Will do. By the way I got you a gift it's back at my place."

"I got you one too." He took a small box out of his pocket which had been carrying around all night and placed it on the table in front of her. "I'll see you later." He left.

Sara stared at the box for a few minutes before picking it up and opening it. Inside was a diamond solitaire, she pulled it out. Attached was a small piece of paper which made her smile.

"Nice rock." Catherine said walking a few minutes later. "Evidence?" Sara shook her head. "Yours?" Sara nodded. "What does the paper say?" Sara handed it to her wordlessly. Catherine read it. "Marry me." She paused. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone."

"Today is our six month anniversary." Sara replied.

"And he just dropped the ring off?"

"Something like that." Sara replied.

"What are you going to say?" Catherine inquired.

"I should probably tell him first." Sara said smiling.

"If that isn't the face of someone who is going to say yes, I don't know what is. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Sara smiled.

"So is he anyone I know?" Catherine asked.

"Maybe." Sara replied coyly.

"I see you're not going to tell me."

"No. I'll find out."

"I'm sure you will eventually."

The DNA evidence had nailed their suspect so Sara could wait a few minutes to finish processing her evidence, so she went in search of Nick. She found his in the AV lab with Archie.

"Nick." She said.

"Hey Sara." He turned around.

"Were you serious earlier?" She questioned.

"Yes."

"Then okay."

"Okay?" Sara nodded. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I should get back to work, I'll see you later. Bye Archie."

"Bye." Archie called after her. "What was all that about?" He asked seeing the smile on Nick's face. "Did you get her to agree to go out with you or something?"

"Or something." Nick replied.

"Sanders is going to be jealous."

"He'll get over it. Where were we?"

"So did we get engaged?" Nick said as they sat down in the restaurant for breakfast.

"Well technically you didn't ask me, a piece of paper did." Sara set the ring box on the table.

"Let's rectify that. Sara, will you marry me?"

"Yes." Sara replied. Nick kissed her. "So can I try it on now?"

"You didn't before?" Nick questioned.

"No." Nick took the ring out the box, and tore off the paper off and slid it on her finger. "How did you know what size to get?"

"I have my ways." He teased.

"Let's forget breakfast." Sara said.

"I thought you were hungry."

Sara leant over and whispered in his ear. "Save a horse, ride a cowboy."

Nick smiled.

"Let's go."

THE END


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This was only supposed to be a one part story, but following requests there will be a few more posts.

Sara leant against the counter the following evening grateful that Greg had been the last person to make coffee. After taking a sip she glanced at her ring which she was adjusting to wearing. She had a chain to put the ring on when she was working so that she didn't blow the labs budget for the year on gloves.

"Hey Sara." Warrick said walking into the break room it was still ten minutes before their shift officially started. "The coffee any good?"

"Blue Hawaiian, Greg must have come in early." Sara replied.

"Great." Warrick poured himself a cup.

"You look tired." Sara commented.

"My neighbour decided that he was going to play music all day so I couldn't get any sleep for most of. I had to get a hotel room so I could crash for a couple of hours."

"Well Vegas is a good place to find one of those." Sara smiled.

"Girl is there something you want to tell me?" Warrick asked finally noticing her ring.

"About?"

"That rock on your hand." He took her hand.

"I'm getting married." Sara told him.

"Congratulations girl." He hugged her. "Are you sure this is real? I could always…"

"You're not going to take it out of its setting to test it." Sara told him.

"Good evening folks." Nick walked in.

"Greg made coffee if you want some." Sara told him.

"Great."

"Sara got engaged." Warrick informed Nick.

"Wow. Congratulations." Nick told her.

"Thanks." Sara smiled at him.

"I didn't know you were seeing someone." Warrick commented.

"It's surprising what you can get past a bunch of CSI's." Sara stated.

"You definitely said yes then." Catherine said walking spotting the ring immediately.

"I said yes." Sara confirmed.

"You knew about it?" Warrick questioned.

"I saw Sara after the ring got dropped off yesterday." Catherine explained.

"He dropped the ring off?" Warrick queried.

"Something like that." Sara said.

"It had a little paper tag on it that said 'marry me'. I thought it was kind of sweet." Catherine remarked.

"Me too." Sara agreed.

"Sounds to me like whoever he is didn't want to be in the same room in case you said no." Warrick stated.

"He asked properly later." Sara explained.

"I still think you should let me test the ring to make sure it's real."

"I'm pretty sure it is." Sara looked at it.

"There are some decent fakes out there."

"Considering where the ring box is from I'd say it's real too." Catherine commented.

"You think a guy would give Sara a fake diamond?" Nick questioned from where he'd sat at the table keeping out of things.

"Depends on how cheap the guy is."

"He's not cheap." Sara defended Nick. "The diamond is real."

"Who exactly is he?"

"One of the good ones." Sara sipped more of her coffee.

"Good evening." Greg walked into the break room. "And what are we all discussing."

"Well Warrick and I were discussing how grateful we were that you'd come in early and made coffee." Sara explained. "But then there was a change of topic."

"Sara got engaged." Catherine informed him.

"Are you trying break my heart?" Greg held his hand over his heart.

"Sorry Greggo." Sara apologised.

"So who is the guy?" Greg asked.

"Okay people." Grissom walked in. "We have a 419 at the Bellagio. Sara, Catherine why don't you take it." He handed Catherine the slip, the others looked at him. "Did I miss something?"

"Sara got engaged." Greg told him.

"Congratulations." Grissom told her. "You'll have to take the ring off at crime scene and in the lab otherwise you'll go through too many sets of gloves."

"I've already thought of that." Sara said.

"Take Greg with you."

"Nick, Warrick. Possible 419 at Sunnyview Rest Home. Potentially suspicious circumstances surround the death of a resident." Grissom handed Warrick the slip. "I've got a consultation to do so I'll be in the lab all night."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

"So Sara is getting married." Warrick said when they were driving to their crime scene.

"It would appear so." Nick replied.

"Who would have thought Sara would have been the first of us to get married." He remarked.

"Well I figured she'd probably get married before Greg, and Catherine was married."

"We know how that turned out." Warrick pointed out.

"So you're surprised Sara is getting married?"

"Did you know she was seeing someone?" Warrick asked.

"She may have mentioned something."

"You know who the guy is?"

"You should probably ask Sara that." Nick suggested.

Nick thought back to the beginning. At first neither had realised anything was happening. It had started out as getting coffee after work, then moved on to breakfast, watching TV and falling asleep on each other, grabbing dinner before going to shift. After a while they were spending all their free time together.

"_Sara, can I ask you something?" Nick said one day after they had watched a documentary on the discovery channel together._

"_Sure." _

"_Are we dating?" He inquired._

"_Dating?"_

"_We spend all our time together. Forget I said anything." He shrugged._

"_No the evidence would suggest we're dating but there is one thing that would clarify it."_

"_What's that?"  
_

"_People who are dating tend to kiss."_

"_I can help with that." He ran his hand down her cheek and gently kissed her._

"_Wow!" Sara exclaimed._

"_Wow is a pretty good description." Nick agreed. _

"_We should try that again to prove our test data wasn't corrupt."_

"_In the name of science." He smiled before kissing her again._

"_I'll stick with my first assessment, wow. Although there is a distinct possibly well have to carry out more test later."_

"_Let me know what I can do to help." He paused. "So I guess we're officially dating."_

"_I guess so."_

"_So are we telling people?" Nick inquired._

"_It would be nice to keep it just between us for a while." Sara suggested._

"_Okay." He kissed her again._

"_So Nick…"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I remember you saying if I watched this documentary with you you'd make me blueberry pancakes before I went home."_

"_I remember. But you know you could always stay." Sara looked at him. "Just to sleep, I sleep better when you're around anyway."_

"_Me too." Sara admitted. "Okay, but I need to go home before we have to go to work to change."_

"Nick!" Warrick repeated breaking Nick out of his daze.

"Sorry bro, did you say something?"

"I said I think we should meet this guy and make sure he's good enough for Sara."

"I'm sure Sara knows what's best for her and wouldn't agree to marry a jerk." Nick pointed out.

CSICSICSICSICSI

"So Sara who is the man you're breaking my heart for?" Greg asked as they drove to their crime scene.

"That's for me to know." Sara replied.

"You know he'd quit bugging you if you just told us." Catherine commented.

"I know. Look you're CSI's figure it out yourselves. But we have a crime scene, so you can ask three yes or no questions and then we have to work."

"Do we know him?" Greg asked.

"Yes." Sara replied.

"I already knew that." Catherine said. "Does he work at the lab or PD?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Greg asked.

"I'm sure. That's your three questions up."

"That wasn't a question." Greg said.

"Sounded like one to me."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Archie." Sara said walking into the A/V lab.

"Sara."

"Security camera footage from the Belliago." Sara handed him the evidence. "And our victim." She handed him an information sheet with the data she written including his social security number from his ID.

"I'll see what I can find."

"Let me know if you find anything interesting." Sara told him.

"Before you go there is a rumour circulating."

"What rumour is that?" Sara inquired.

"A rumour that you were seen wearing an expensive engagement ring."

"For once the rumour mill is true." She showed him the ring which was on the chain around her neck. "Saving gloves."

"Rumour also has it that you haven't actually told anyone who you are engaged to."

"Which is also true." Sara said.

"Yesterday you came in here and told Nick if he was serious okay. When you left I asked if he'd asked you out on a date or something. Now you would have agreed to go out on a date with him if you were getting engaged to someone else. So it would have to be Nick."

"Very good deductive reasoning skills." Sara said. "Can you not say anything to anyone else we're trying to see how long it will take them to figure it out?"

"Sure. How long have you been together?"

"Six months." Sara replied.

"And he actually asked you out on a date?" Archie questioned.

"Technically we didn't realise we were dating for the first month."

"How do you not realise?" Archie wondered out loud.

"We spent a lot of time together. And even people who are trained to look for the minutest pieces of evidence can miss what's going on around them. No one here realised we were together."

"True."

"So can you keep it to yourself for a while?" Sara requested.

"It will be fun watching Greg tie himself in knots trying to figure it out."

"Thanks Archie."

"I'll let you know when I have something and congratulations."

"Thank you."

CSI CSI CSI

"Greg." Sara said when she found him.

"I just dropped the samples we took off with Mia but she's backlogged so it could take a while." Greg replied.

"You couldn't persuade her to skip us up the queue?" Sara asked.

"I even offered my services but she said she'd conduct the tests in the order in which they came in and basically threw me out."

"Archie will get back to us about the security camera tapes."

"Catherine went to see Doc Robbins about a cause of death." Greg told her.

"David's preliminary cause of death was exsanguination."

"Being sliced down the middle including internal organs will do that to you especially when you loose the majority of your blood in a pool on a cream carpet."

"Since everything else is taken care of that leaves us with Trace." Sara said.

"You're really not going to tell me who you're marrying?" Greg asked.

"You asked your three questions and you'll figure it out."

"You mean before I get an invitation to the wedding?"

"Who said you were invited?" Sara asked.

"I'm not?" Greg sound hurt.

"Greg, we only got engaged yesterday and I'm sure you will be invited when we set a date. But right now we have a case to solve."

"You're not going to run of to a drive thru wedding are you?"

"No, but I did get offered a discount at the Intergalactic Chapel of Love, but that was before Nick and I had to arrest the Elvis minister, for killing the Alien minister and impersonating him." Sara recalled.

"You'd really get married by a guy impersonating Elvis or an alien?"

"No of course not."

"Good you had me scared for a moment."

"Greg, we have a dead man who would like us to figure who killed him. To do that we need to take a look at the evidence." Sara reminded him.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Nick." Archie called when he saw him walking past.

"Hey Archie, what's up?"

"I thought I'd be the first person around here to congratulate you."

"How did you know?"

"Given the conversation you had with Sara yesterday it wasn't hard to put two and two together. And I spoke to Sara when she dropped in the security footage earlier."

"Did she ask you not to say anything?" Nick inquired.

"You want to let the others figure it out for themselves. Besides it will be fun to watch Greg squirm."

"Thanks man."

"Just one more question before you go."

"What question would that be?" Nick being very wary.

"How did you not realise you were dating for a month?"

"CSI's can be oblivious to what's going on around them too." He said relived that was the question.

"That's what Sara said too."

"Smart woman. I should get back to work, so I'll see you later."

"Bye."

CSI CSI

"Did you work last night?" Greg asked the receptionist.

"Yes." She replied.

"Do you know if Sara had any visitors last night?"

"Not that I know of, why do you ask?" She inquired.

"Just wondering. Thanks for your help."

CSI CSI.

"Archie, you beeped?" Greg said when he walked into the A/V lab.

"Actually I paged Sara."

"She's in the middle of a test so she sent me instead."

"Okay, I found some things on the surveillance tapes that aren't going to help."

"Did you know Sara got engaged?" Greg asked.

"Yes and I'm sure they will very happy."

"They? You know who she is engaged to?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"It was pretty obvious."

"Who is it?" Greg asked.

"Sara asked me not to say."

"Come on Archie, it's just me."

"Sara's right about CSI's being oblivious to what's going around them."

"Well I know it's not you."

"Right."

"Just tell me it isn't Hodges."

"If it was Hodges I would be suggesting she gets the help of a mental health professional." Archie said.

"Good point."

"Now about this tape I have your guy going up in the elevator and to his room. Around the time of death, the camera in the elevator goes black, then the cameras in the hallway to his room. Then again thirty minutes later in reverse the camera in the hallway goes black and then camera in the elevator."

"So we're looking for someone who has the power to shut of security cameras?"

"You can buy the devices on the internet." Archie said. "You could make one yourself with a little time and effort and know how."

"In the rest of the hotel if a camera goes blank security would notice it."

"These are thirty second black outs at most. The security guards would just think it's a glitch."

"But if could get you the footage for the lobby do you think you could see if anyone is following our vic?"

"I can try."

"Great. And you won't tell me?"

"No. But think about it logically the answer is staring you in the face."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

"Sara, do you have a pen?" Nick asked as he walked into the room where she was working.

"Nice to see you too." Sara held out a pen to him.

"Sorry I just need to write this down before I forget." He scribbled the information down on piece of paper he had in his hand. "Right. Hi."

"Hi yourself. By the way Archie guessed."

"I know I spoke to him earlier." He paused. "Greg and Catherine give you a hard time?"

"I told them they could ask three questions other than your name. Greg asked whether he knew you, which Catherine already asked me when she walked in after you gave me the ring. Catherine asked if you worked for the lab or PD. Then Greg asked if I was sure, which took up their three questions. Greg's still bugging me but then again he wouldn't be Greg if he wasn't."

"True." Nick smiled.

"What about Warrick?"

"He's playing big brother. He thinks he should make sure I'm good enough for you."

"Oh I think you'll do." Sara winked at him.

"Are you coming by after work?" Nick inquired.

"I'm probably going to be pulling a double." Sara told him. "Our vic got slashed down the middle and bleed out." Sara showed him one of the crime scene photographs.

"Ouch. Do you have a weapon?"

"Yes, but no workable prints."

"If you do that to someone you're going to end up covered in blood."

"Greg's gone to see if Archie got anything off the security camera tapes." Nick raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry Archie won't say anything."

"I don't care if he tells everyone." He paused. "Although annoying Greg is fun."

"As always." Sara smiled. "How's your case?"

"A 73 year old woman's wheelchair toppled over and she fell down a flight of stairs."

"Accident or did someone push her?" Sara inquired.

"For the moment it looks like an accident, but we're still waiting on results from the post-mortem and tox. But there weren't any prints on the chair. It just looks like it rolled to the edge and she fell out down the stairs."

"Sounds nice and easy. But those are usually the ones that turn out to be more complicated."

"I guess on that note I should get back to work. I'll see you later." He winked at her. "And thanks for the loan of the pen."

"Not a problem."

"Did Sara tell you anything?" Greg asked when ran into Nick having seen him leave the room in which Sara was working.

"Other than the fact that simple cases are usually the ones that turn out to be complicated?" Nick questioned. "I only went to borrow a pen."

"Borrow a pen?"

"I had to write a few numbers down and my pen ran out." He turned the paper around so Greg could see. "She told me about your vic."

"Well Archie knows who it is."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Let me know when you do. I have to get back to work man." Nick patted Greg's shoulder before heading off to locate Warrick.

"'Rick." Nick said when he found him in the garage.

"Nick."

"I got those stats. Every year there are 36000 wheelchair related accidents and about 51 fatalities. 70 of those are related to tipping or falls." Nick explained. "There are several studies."

"Let's test the tipping ability of this wheelchair."

"You want to be our victim?" Nick asked.

"Or we could just use our dummy." Warrick suggested.

"Or Greg." Nick offered as an alternative.

"Is he driving Sara crazy?" Warrick inquired.

"Yes. She let him and Catherine ask three questions before telling them that they had to drop it because they had a case."

"So Greg's interrogating everyone." Warrick guessed.

"Basically."

"He'll figure it out eventually and let us know."

"That's what I told him."

"You can't keep a secret around here for that long."

"No one knew she was seeing anyone." Nick pointed out.

"Good point. Grab the dummy and let's send him for a ride.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay, the chair didn't end up the same way as at the scene, with that scenario." Warrick said.

"Nor did our vic."

"So we want to get our vic like this." Warrick moved the dummy. "And the chair to fall in this direction." He upset the chair.

"That's easy." Sara said seeing how he'd set it up as she entered the garage.

"Sara." Warrick said. "What were you saying?"

"It's easy to make a wheelchair fall that way and tip someone out." Sara said.

"How do you know that?" Nick inquired.

"I may have gone to a few wheelchair races."

"Wheelchairs races?" Nick questioned.

"One of the fraternities when I was in college used to misappropriate wheelchairs from the med school and have wheelchair races. Sprints, manoeuvrability around obstacles, they did that one blindfolded and then they have a competition to see who could tip their wheelchair over in the most creative way."

"You went to wheelchair races?" Warrick questioned.

"I thought you didn't like fraternities?" Nick added.

"I don't like fraternities or sororities but I liked the physics behind the wheelchair races. Given how screwed up my family is science is the one thing that always made sense. But that wasn't why I'm here."

"I just thought you were taking a breather from Greg." Warrick stated.

"He went back to the Bellagio to get the security camera tapes for the lobby. I went and got my tox results yours were ready too so I grabbed them. Your vic was too doped up to roll herself anywhere; she had to have been given a helping hand." She handed the file to Warrick.

"Thanks. I guess we're going back to Sunnyview." Warrick told Nick.

"I've got to go and find Catherine so I'll see you later."

"Hey Sara." Nick called after as she started to leave.

"Yes?" Sara turned around.

"How do you get the chair to fall like that?"

"Here hold this." She walked back and handed him the file with her tox results in. Warrick helped her set up the chair again with the dummy in it.

Sara positioned the chair at an angle with the handles facing away from her and gave the wheels a sharp push, the chair bounced off the fake wall they had set up, the dummy fell out and the chair fell over in almost exactly the same position as in the photographs.

"Print the wheel rims." Sara said taking the file back from Nick.

"Guess you do learn something new everyday." Warrick said as she was gone. "Do you know what she was talking about with her family?"

"Don't spread it around but Sara's parents were hippies and her father was pretty abusive towards her mother. In the end it got too much for her and she stabbed him to death."

"Sara's Mom killed her father?" Warrick repeated.

"Sara and her brother spent a good ten years kicking around the foster care system."

"And she got into Harvard?" Warrick questioned.

"You know Sara; she can pretty much do anything she puts her mind too. She worked hard and got a full scholarship. It's why some cases hit her harder than others."

"How did I not know about this? How did you know about this?"

"A little too much tequila after a bad day." Nick replied. Recalling the conversation which had also led to his confession about the last minute babysitter. "Don't say anything to anyone, she doesn't want people knowing."

"Does anyone else in the lab know?"

"Grissom might but I doubt it." He paused. "I'll go and print the wheelchair rims."

"I'll check in with the doc and then I'll come and find you."

"Okay."

CSI CSI CSI

"Catherine." Sara said when she located her.

"I just got back from talking to Doc Robbins official cause of death exsanguination. The cut nick the heart and several other major organs. He didn't stand a chance."

"Tox report shows a high blood alcohol level. Security cameras were blacked out when our killer entered and exited the elevator and the ones in the hallway to our vic's room. Greg's gone back to get the lobby footage so Archie can see if he find anything on there. But we have no useable prints from the room or the murder weapon."

"So we're stalled. We need to call Brass and see if we can get a little more information on why our vic was in town." Catherine stated.

"Do you want to call him? Or should I?"

"I'll call him." Catherine said pulling out her cell phone.

"I'll go and see how Mia's doing in DNA."

"Sara are you ever going to tell us who he is?"

"You'll figure it out. But one more clue since Archie figured it out already. He works in this building."

"Grissom?" Catherine questioned.

"I got over that a long time ago." Sara replied. "Call Brass."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Catherine, Warrick and Greg all took a break at the same time. Greg was in the process of making some more coffee.

"We're CSI's we should be able to figure this out." Catherine stated.

"Let's look at what we know." Warrick suggested.

"It's someone who works in this building, someone we know." Catherine said.

"Archie knows who it is." Greg poured the coffee.

"He does?" Warrick questioned.

"He said it was pretty easy to figure out."

"Well I know it's not me, or you." Warrick said.

"It's not Archie or Hodges either." Greg added.

"Or Grissom." Catherine stated.

"Who does that leave?" Warrick asked.

"Bobby D, David?"

"David is already engaged." Catherine pointed out.

"Is that fresh coffee Greg?" Grissom asked walking in.

"Just made it." Greg replied.

"Good." Grissom stated. "How are your cases going?"

"Our vic was too doped up to have fallen out of the chair by herself someone had to have pushed her." Warrick said. "We have some smudge marks on the rims of the tires. Nick swabbed the tires for DNA given how the chair would have to have been pushed to end up in the position it did. We're waiting for Mia to get back to us with the results. We haven't been able to find out any reason anyone would want to kill her as of yet. No life insurance policies, no medical reasons, she didn't have more than a few thousand dollars in the bank."

"Keep working on it." Grissom pour himself some coffee.

"We're stalling too, nothing in our vics background suggests a reason for him to be killed, but it was definitely premeditated." Catherine said. "The killer had a device to block out the security cameras so they wouldn't have been seen."

"Archie couldn't find anyone following him in the lobby, but there were a lot of people mulling around." Greg added.

"We have a weapon but no fingerprints or DNA on our killer."

"But given how much he bled out, the person is going to have been covered in blood." Greg said.

"So you're all taking a break to collect your thoughts." Grissom surmised.

"Yes." Catherine replied.

"And trying to figure out who Sara is engaged to."

"You still haven't figured it out?" Grissom questioned.

"No. We know it's someone who works here."

"How many people here is Sara close to that aren't in this room?" Grissom asked.

"Nick." Warrick said.

"How long have you known?" Catherine asked.

"I've known they were together for the past few months, but since it wasn't affecting their work and they are keeping it out of the lab there was no need to mention anything. I have to get back to work."

"Did Nick say anything to you?" Greg asked Warrick.

"Only that Sara had mentioned something about seeing someone. Why would they keep it a secret? We'd be happy for them." Warrick wondered.

"Probably to start with in case it didn't work out. Then they knew we'd comment on it. Beside none of us apart from Grissom noticed, and he's the one who is usually oblivious to human interaction." Catherine pointed out.

"You know now perhaps we can have a little fun." Greg remarked.

"What are you suggesting Greggo?" Warrick inquired.

"That we convince Nick we figured out who Sara engaged to, let's say for example Hodges and that we're very happy for them and that they make a great couple. That they'll have cute kids."

"Very sneaky Greggo. I like it." Warrick agreed.

"What are you going to say to Sara?" Catherine asked.

"Nothing." Greg replied.

"He knows she'll kick his ass if he does."

"Very true."

"And you think Nick won't?" Catherine asked.

"Sara likes me, she'll protect me."

"She might come down on Nick's side." Catherine pointed out.

"That's a chance we'll have to take."

Warrick's pager went off.

"DNA. I've got to go. Hodges right?"

"Hodges." Greg confirmed.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

"What've you got Mia?" Warrick asked as he and Nick walked into DNA.

"I ran the DNA you got from the wheelchair frame."

"And?" Nick prompted.

"There was a hit in CODIS. A Mark Taylor." She swung the screen around to show them.

"The names not familiar but the face is." Nick said.

"The general manager." Warrick said.

"I guess we need to talk to Vega." Nick said pulling out his cell phone. "Thank Mia."

"You're welcome."

"Vega is going to pick him up and meet us at PD." Nick told Warrick when he got off the phone.

"Good."

"This case may not be as complicated as Sara thought."

"Speaking of Sara. Sanders figured out who she is engaged to."

"Oh who?" Nick questioned.

"Hodges."

"Greg thinks Sara is engaged to Hodges?" Nick repeated in disbelief.

"It was a process of elimination from the evidence he's gathered. It wasn't you, me, him, Archie, Bobby, David's engaged, Doc Robbins is married, and she told Catherine emphatically it wasn't Grissom. So that leaves Hodges."

"Hodges. I don't think so."

"Well who else could it be?" Warrick asked. "And as Grissom says "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth"".

"But Hodges?"

"Hey if it works for Sara who are we to argue?" Warrick shrugged. "He must have a good quality somewhere. We just can't see it."

"But Hodges?"

"It's not our decision. If she wants to marry him, we can't say anything."

"I've just got to do something I'll be ready to go in twenty minutes."

"Sure."

CSI CSI

"Hey Sara, have you got a minute?" Nick said when he found her with Catherine. "I need to ask you something about the wheelchairs."

"Sure." Sara gave him a curious look. "I'll be right back." She told Catherine.

"Take your time."

"What's going on Nick?" Sara asked.

"In here." Nick pushed her into an empty room and closed the door.

"Okay now you're scaring me slightly. Although it can't be as bad as the time you pushed me into the closet at…"

"Greg thinks you're engaged to Hodges." Nick stated interrupting her.

"WHAT!"

"Warrick just told me that Greg figured it out by process of elimination that you're engaged to Hodges."

"That's crazy, Hodges gives me the creep and makes my skin crawl only not quite as bad Ecklie."

"That's good." Nick said not sure what else to say.

"It's not good." Sara paced in a circle. "What the hell was Greg thinking?"

"Warrick seems to think Hodges must have at least one redeeming quality you see in him."

"The only redeeming quality about Hodges is that he'll be dead one day. And that's a really horrible thing to say."

"But it's true. Sara." Nick grabbed her arms to stop her pacing.

Sara looked at him.

"You know what its fine. You and I know the truth that's all that matters."

"You're seriously okay with people thinking you're engaged to Hodges?" Nick questioned.

"No, but when they figure out they were wrong it will definitely look like my taste in men has improved."

"Thanks, it's nice to know I'm one step above Hodges."

"You know what I meant, and I'll make it up to you when I get home."

"Promise?" Nick said.

"Promise. Now tell me how you're case is going in case Catherine asks."

"We found some epithelials on the tires of the wheelchair, Mia ran them and got a hit. Vega's picking him up now."

"That's great. I should get back, thanks for the heads up."

"I'll see you later."

"Count on it cowboy." She winked at him.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

"Sorry about that." Sara apologised to Catherine when she slipped back into the layout room.

"Did you sort out his wheelchair problem?"

"I had to tell him how to get a wheelchair to land in the position they found it in earlier, he had a couple of questions."

"By the way Greg dropped by, he wanted to tell me you were engaged to Hodges."

"Greg told you I was engaged to Hodges?"

"To each there own, and in Vegas that phrase has very very broad meaning." Catherine said.

"Because Hodges is some whose bones I want to jump." Sara said sarcastically. Catherine couldn't help but laugh. "You seriously don't think I would be within fifty feet of the guy unless they paid me to be do you? Let alone get engaged to him."

"No, but then again I didn't think you and Nick would wake up enough to figure things out and get engaged either, but I was wrong about that too."

"How long have you known?" Sara asked.

"Since Grissom told Warrick, Greg and I."

"Grissom knew?"

"Apparently he knew you were dating for the last few months, but since it wasn't affecting your work he didn't say anything."

"Wow."

"So why didn't you tell anyone?" Catherine inquired.

"It just worked out easier that way."

"Is he any good in bed?" Catherine asked.

"Catherine! I'm not going answer that."

"I'm single I have to live vicariously."

"I'm sure there are a lot easier ways to do that in Vegas." Sara told her. "Why if Greg knows the truth is he going around telling people that I'm engaged to Hodges."

"To annoy Nick." Catherine replied. "Since he didn't say anything while he and Warrick were trying to figure it out."

"I guess I can understand that."

"Are you going to tell Nick that they know?"

"No." Sara replied.

"Why not?"

"Because it will annoy him, and when he's annoyed he cooks. I can say this for Texan's they make a great breakfast."

"Do you think that is wise?"

"He'll get over it and figure out why they are doing and kill Greg so I don't have to."

"Logical." Catherine said.

"We'll just clean up all the blood."

"Blood." Catherine said.

"What about blood?"

"Greg said something about the murderer being covered in blood. We need to go back and check for blood."

"I'll call him." Sara said pulling out her cell phone.

CSI CSI

"So what are we doing here?" Greg asked.

Having called ahead the elevator and the whole hallway and staircase had been isolated.

"Here." Sara handed him a bottle.

"Luminol?" Greg questioned.

"You said it yourself. If you slice someone open you'd get covered in blood. Maybe since we can't find any evidence here we can …"

"Blood bread trail?" Greg finished for her.

"Sara start at the door and work that way, Greg work that way and check the elevator. I'll check the stair well." Catherine instructed.

"We're going to need to dime the lights." Greg said.

Catherine nodded to the officer, who relayed a message over the radio. The lights switched to emergency lighting.

"Anything else?"

"Can't think of anything."

"Let me know if you find anything." Catherine before walking off in the direction of the stairwell.

"Oh Greg." Sara said when she was gone as she pulled her orange goggles and UV light out of her kit.

"Yes Sara."

"You know Nick is going to kill you slowly right?"

"For what?" Greg asked.

"For telling everyone that I'm engaged to Hodges."

"You mean you're not?" Greg asked with fake innocence. "I knew that Sherlock Holmes logic was faulty."

"We both know you know the truth. Just remember he knows how to hide a body."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

"Huh Greg." Sara said.

"Look I promise to stop telling people you're engaged to Hodges."

"Good, but that wasn't what I wanted to show you."

"What've you got?" Greg walked over.

"Does that look like a blood trail to you?" Sara asked looking at the small trail that glowed under the light.

"One way to find out." Greg opened his kit and took a swab of the area and applied the chemicals which turned it pink. "Blood."

"Take some photographs and I'll see where this goes."

"Okay."

Sara continued to spray the Luminol following the trail until she reached the door. She found a smear that looked like someone had wiped the blood away.

"Officer, I'm going to need to know who was in this room and see if they are still in the building."

"Yes ma'am. We evacuated the whole floor so he should be downstairs in the dinning room."

"Greg call Brass we're going to need a warrant. I'm going to get Catherine." Sara instructed.

"So my death is postponed for a few hours?"

"A few." Sara replied. "I'll be right back."

"Catherine?" Sara called when she entered the stairwell.

"Yes." Sara heard her call from down below.

"I've got something." Sara replied.

"Okay, because I have nothing." Catherine walked back up the stairs.

"By the way Greg is a little on edge."

"Why?" Catherine inquired.

"I may have told him that Nick would kill him for telling people I was marrying Hodges."

"So Nick is the only who doesn't know we know?" Catherine asked.

"Yes."

"It should be interesting when he finds out." Catherine said.

CSI CSI

"Hey." Nick said getting up from the couch when Sara let herself in.

"Hey yourself."

"I made breakfast."

"That's what I love about you, you anticipate my every need." Sara wrapped arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I love you too." He paused. "I missed you today."

"I missed you too."

"How'd your case work out?"

"The guy in the room across the hall killed him, he's some kind of tech expert so he rigged the security cameras to go off at just the right time."

"That's good you solved it." He smiled.

"How'd the wheelchair thing go?"

"Turns out the manager of the retirement home was a wanted criminal, our vic found out, he doped her and killed her."

"Sounds like we both had a good day."

"Apart from the Hodges thing." Nick said.

"Apart from the Hodges thing." She kissed him. "So about breakfast…"

"I just need to put the waffles on."

"Can we delay it…"

"What did you have in mind Ms Sidle?"

"It seems I remember making a promise to make something up to you."

"I seem to recall that too."

"Just how much hot water do you have?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Oh really." Sara smiled.

"Really."

"Give me a couple minutes."

"Anything you want." He kissed her.

Just as Sara left the room, the doorbell rang….

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

"Warrick?" Nick said when he opened the door.

"Hey man. Are you going to let me in?"

"Now's not a good time, I have company." Nick said.

"Oh I'm sure she won't mind." Warrick pushed past him. "Hey Sara." He called.

"Hey Warrick." Sara called back from the bedroom. "Nick's making waffles if you're hungry."

"Thanks." Warrick replied.

Nick looked at Warrick confused.

"What man?"

"How did you know Sara was here?"

"Where else would your fiancée be after a tough day at the office?" Warrick asked. "And her car is park outside."

"How long have you known?" Nick asked.

"Did I forget to mention that they know? Grissom told them?" Sara asked as she walked in tightening the belt to Nick's robe which she always borrowed.

"You may have forgotten to mention it. What was with the whole Hodges thing?"

"Greg trying to annoy you for us not telling them the truth outright. By the way Greg may be under the impression that you're going to kill him." Sara said.

"Why would he think that?"

"Because I told him that you would." Sara smiled. "You may want to run with that tomorrow when he confesses."

"Greg's going to confess?" Warrick questioned.

"I can be surprisingly persuasive."

"And what are you doing here?" Nick asked Warrick.

"Just because it turns out to be you man, doesn't mean you we don't need to have a discussion about whether or not you're good enough for Sara." Warrick crossed his arms.

"How very big brother-ish of you." Sara smiled. "Have a fun discussion, I need to take a shower I sprayed a lot of Luminol today and there was an incident with fingerprint powder I don't want to go into." Nick gave her a look. "If you have any ice-cream to throw on those waffles that would great."

"This isn't Baskin-Robbins." Nick reminded her.

"Interesting idea for décor but there is some chocolate chip ice-cream in the back of the freezer. Don't make a mess on the carpet."

"Carpet?" Warrick questioned.

"She moved the couch looking for something and decided I needed to get the carpets cleaned a few weeks ago. Other than that don't ask, the place hasn't been this clean since I moved in."

"Right."

"So do you want to talk while I make waffles? She could be a while."

"Sure." Warrick followed him into the kitchen. "So why didn't you say anything man?"

"Would you believe it didn't come up?" Nick asked.

"Not really. You and I've talked about women in the last six months more than once."

"It's Sara and honestly I didn't want to jinx it."

"You could have at least told me before you proposed." Warrick remarked.

"I didn't realise I was going to do it until last week when I went to that botched jewellery store robbery. I saw the ring and I had to buy it. I wasn't planning on proposing when I did either but it seemed like the right time."

"Catherine said something about the lab."

"It was after you and Sara were talking about that song yesterday. We talked Archie paged me, I left the ring on the table and left."

"So how does Archie piecing two and two together come from that?" Warrick asked.

"Catherine came in after I left and then Sara came and found me and I was still talking to Archie. She asked if I was serious, and then said okay. She did make me propose properly."

"Did she move in?" Warrick asked noticing some of the things from Sara's apartment around the place.

"Not entirely. She still has a couple months left on her lease, but she's here four, five days a week."

"How did I not know notice?"

"You weren't look for it. Do you want bacon with your waffles?"

"I thought you just put chocolate chips in it." Warrick said.

"That was for Sara. She prefers them with chocolate chips or some kind of fruit usually blueberries."

"Bacon is good."

"Right."

"So did you reach a conclusion?" Sara asked when she came out and grabbed her plate.

"Are you sure you want to marry him?" Warrick inquired.

"Like Catherine said, I could do worse in Vegas." Sara smiled.

"Then if he gives you any trouble let me know."

"Brass said the same."

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

"So you knew that they knew?" Nick said when Warrick left.

"Catherine told me after you told me about Hodges." Sara said. "I didn't see you again until I came in the door. But if it makes you feel any better I really did make Greg feel bad for even starting that rumour."

"Did you know Warrick was coming by?"

"No. You'd both left before we got back. So are you mad that I didn't tell you?"

"No. Although I was kind of looking forward to that shower."

"Well we don't have to be at work for another eight hours, and as long as I spend the majority of those asleep. I'll see what I can do about making it up to you."

"Have I ever mentioned that I love you?"

"It may have come up once or twice." She winked at him and took his hand.

CSI CSI

"_I'm singing in the rain, just sing…"_ Sara stopped herself. "Ah!"

"Ah what?" Nick asked.

"I know I asked you to get the radio station off that country station, but did you have to put it on that plays nothing but songs from musicals?" Sara asked.

"I did?" Nick questioned.

"Unfortunately."

"Sorry."

"Good hand over your keys." Sara said as they walked towards the briefing.

"You want my keys?" Nick questioned.

"I'm not driving around all night with a radio that only plays songs from musicals, country was one thing this is too much."

Nick reluctantly traded keys with her.

"Thank you."

"Greg did you make coffee?" Sara asked when the entered the room.

"Sure did."

"Good." Sara went and poured herself a cup.

"Greggo." Nick said.

"Nick."

"Hey Greg wasn't there something you wanted to say to Nick." Sara said.

"Hang on; we want to see this let us get comfortable." Warrick stopped him as he and Catherine entered.

"What I need an audience?" Greg asked.

"It's the only show we're going to get tonight unless we're going to the strip." Catherine stated.

"Should I be sitting down for this?" Nick inquired.

"Sit, stand either way." Greg said slightly nervously.

Nick.

"Um…" Greg started.

"Good you're all here." Grissom said walking in. "Let's get started."

"Griss can we hold on a minute?" Warrick asked.

"For what purpose?" Grissom inquired.

"Greg was just about to apologise to Nick for telling people Sara was engaged to Hodges." Catherine explained.

"Wouldn't it be more appropriate to apologise to Sara?" Grissom inquired.

"Good point." Greg said. "Sorry Sara, you weren't giving us much to go on and I promise never to do it again. So Gris any cases?"

"Nice segue." Catherine said.

"DB washed up on the shores of Lake Mead. Sara, Warrick do you want to take that one."

"I'm driving." Sara said.

"Hey Sara." Nick stopped her.

"Yes?"

"Be light on the clutch and fill the tank up." Nick told her.

"Right, come on Warrick."

"What was that about?" Catherine asked.

"I got the radio station in her Denali stuck on a country station a couple weeks ago, finally got it to change stations and now it's stuck on a station that apparently just plays songs from musicals, so she made me swap."

"I see."

"May it will inspire you." Grissom said. "One of the chorus line died on stage at the Mandalay Bay Theater's production of Mamma Mia!. You and Catherine take it."

"We'll take my car." Catherine suggested.

"Greg you're with me, guy lost control of his car out near Winchester. He passed a breathalyser and swears it was something wrong with the car."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

"This way." Sara said when they reached the parking lot.

"Your Denali is that way." Warrick stated.

"But we're taking Nick's today, which is why he wants me to fill the tank up."

"Why exactly?"

"Because I finally got him to change station in mine to something other than the country station it was stuck on, but now it's stuck on station that plays songs from musicals. I'm not driving it, especially out to Lake Mead."

"I can understand that. How did you get him to trade keys with you?"

"I asked." Sara replied.

"You mean you threatened to withhold sex unless he gave you his keys."

"No. You should never use sex as a bargaining chip even in arguments." Sara stated. "I stated my case and asked him to hand over his keys and he did."

"I see."

"Although I'm still not sure he's quite one hundred percent forgiven you for turning up when you did yesterday."

"Why?" Sara gave him a look. "Oh. You should have just thrown me out."

"You really think Nick would ask you to leave so he could get some?"

"I would." Warrick said.

"Well that's you Warrick. Given Nick has five sisters and who his parents are he got taught slightly more manners."

"And I'm surprised to hear you use the term 'get some'."

"I'm happy." Sara shrugged.

"I guess that's a result of getting some."

"Do you want to walk?" Sara asked.

"Okay would you like me to use another term?"

"Perhaps we should just drop the whole topic of my sex life."

"Why the subject was just getting interesting?"

"You're as bad as Catherine." Sara sighed.

"Catherine asked about your sex life?"

"Apparently she needs to live vicariously at the moment." Sara replied. "And we need to change subject."

CSI CSI

"So Nicky." Catherine said.

"Why do I sense an interrogation coming?" Nick asked.

"Because Sara has no family to interrogate you so we're looking out for her."

"You know I already got this from Warrick."

"I know. Who do you think sent him over?"

"And who is looking out for my best interests?" Nick inquired.

"You're a big boy now; I think you can look after yourself."

"So can Sara."

"I know but its fun to interrogate you about your intentions. It will be good practice for when Lindsay starts bring boyfriends home."

"Just tell them that you know every cop in town and that they are more than happy to watch their every move and if they put one foot out of place you'll know about it." Nick told her.

"Sounds like you've heard that before."

"I have five sisters and with my parents being a judge and a public defender they do know at least every cop in three counties."

"Right."

"And my father was cleaning his shot gun on more than one occasion when my sisters' dates would come by to pick them up. He actually scared on of my sister's husbands so much that he couldn't form coherent sentences around him for the first five years they were married." Nick recalled.

"Maybe I should give a call and see if he can give me some tips."

"You be fine Catherine, and Warrick and I will back you up if needs be. And if that doesn't work we'll send in Greg I'm sure he can explain something."

"It wouldn't help. Lindsay has a slight crush on him."

"I wouldn't mention that to Greg." Nick suggested.

"I'm not planning on it." She paused. "How did we get on to the topic of Lindsay?"

"I'm quickly learning to divert the topic when Sara brings up the subject of cleaning."

"I'm sure she has a good reason for it."

"She made me have my carpets cleaned."

"Have you ever had your carpets cleaned?" Catherine asked.

"No. But…"

"Then it was probably a good idea. Just be grateful she hasn't gone over it with her kit."

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

"So Nicky do you like Abba?" Catherine inquired as they got out of the Denali.

"Not really." Nick replied. "Although my three of my sisters did have Dancing Queen played at their wedding reception."

"I used to know a girl who knew every single word to every single Abba song."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Wow."

"So are you going to make it four?" Catherine inquired as they walked up to the front of the theatre and showed their ID which allowed them in.

"Four what?"

"Four Stokes' to have Dancing Queen played at their wedding receptions."

"I doubt it."

"Thought about what kind of wedding you want?" Catherine inquired. "Big, small, run off to one of the many lovely wedding chapels this town has to offer."

"Sara says she refuses to get married by aliens or Elvis and I think my parents would kill me if they weren't invited." Nick replied.

"Give them a couple of grandchildren and they'll forgive you." Catherine said as they walked towards the stage. "What've we got?" She called out to Brass.

"Justin Priestley 24, member of the back singers dancers. Collapsed in the middle of the performance dead. At first they thought he was just over acting in the middle of a big number, but when he didn't get up they stopped the show."

"Any witnesses?" Nick asked.

"A stage full of cast members and an audience who weren't really paying attention."

"Any pictures or footage?" Catherine inquired.

"The theatre operates a no video camera or flash photography policy." Brass replied. "The cast are still in their dressing rooms we talked to them but nothing so far."

"Thanks." Catherine smiled. "So Dave what do you have for us?"

"No visible signs of cause of death like bullet holes or stab wounds. He has a minor contusion on his forehead when he hit the ground, he fell face first. We'll know more when we get him back to the lab."

"And can you confirm approximate time of death for us?" Nick asked.

"I've already carried out the test. If he died at the approximate time the witnesses says he did which was about ninety minutes ago he had a 102 fever at that time."

"The guy had a 102 fever and they made him go on stage?" Nick questioned.

"That's show business for you." Brass said.

"Or he could have naturally had a high body temperature." Catherine offered as an alternative. "It's only a generalisation."

"102 is still a little high." Dave said. "We'll run some tests."

"Could the fever, the lights, the costume meant that he simply passed out and bumped his head?" Nick asked. "Leaving us with our vic."

"It's possible; we'll know more when we do the autopsy. By the way they'd already rolled him over and the paramedics had tried to bring him back."

"Thanks David." Catherine gave him a smile. "Nick why don't you take out here and I'll go check out his locker."

"Got it."

TBC

A/N: I know it's short but I graduate today and I thought I'd at least post a little something.


	16. Chapter 16

"Nick did you find anything?" Catherine asked as she walked out onto the stage.

"Nothing significant. You?"

"I collected his water bottle, the general lotions and potions of a stage performer."

"Any thoughts?" Nick inquired.

"It could be natural causes, but until we know one way or the other we treat it as a homicide."

"Right."

"Catherine." Brass said as he escorted a man onto the stage. "This is Adrian Littlewood, the director; you wanted to speak to him."

"Yes, hi I'm Catherine Willows from the crime lab, this is Nick Stokes."

"Ms Stokes, I already told Captain Brass everything I know about Justin."

"Nicky did you finish clearing the stage?" Catherine asked.

"Yes." Nick replied.

"Mr Littlewood, since all your actors and dancers are still here I'd like them to go through the number that they were doing when Justin collapsed, just so as to give us an idea where everyone was at time."

"My actors are professionals; one of their own has departed us. They are in no state to perform tonight."

"I'm not asking for a Tony award winning performance, I don't need costumes, I just need to know where everyone was and is through out the performance."

"If you want to know where everyone was, there is a camera up there, it takes pictures every three seconds when the stage lights are on. We use the best stills for advertising." Littlewood stated.

"You never mentioned that before." Brass said.

"You never asked."

"We'll need to take a look at those stills but right now find someone to fill in for Justin. But we still need to know who was where."

"Fine." He walked off in a huff.

"Directors." Catherine shrugged it off.

"You're going to make them perform the number?" Nick questioned.

"And you're going to take pictures." Catherine told him.

"What are you thinking?"

"Maybe someone was out of place." Catherine said.

"By the way Nick stick around after your shift is over I have something for you but I left it in my office."

"Should I ask what it is?" Nick mock whispered to Catherine.

"Just keep between him and the door." Catherine winked.

CSI CSI

"What've we got?" Warrick asked as they neared the area that was taped off.

"Female DB washed up on the beach." Vega stated. "Guy over there found her when he was out walking his dog. He felt for a pulse dragged her out of the water and called it in."

"We're going to need his fingerprints and a DNA sample to rule out any cross-contamination." Sara stated.

"Any ID?" Warrick asked.

"Haven't touched the body, we're still waiting on David. I had a message that he had to do something that involved his mother?" Vega said vaguely.

"Momma Mia?" Sara questioned.

"Something like that." Vega said.

"It's a musical. One of the cast members died on stage earlier." Sara said.

"I guess that would make more sense." Vega conceded.

"I'll talk to the guy with the dog." Sara said.

"I'll photograph the body and take a water sample." Warrick said.

"How did she know what I was talking about?" Vega asked.

"Nick and Cath are looking into it with Brass." Warrick replied as he walked to the waters edge and took a sample of water.

"It was surprising Sara and Nick."

"It wasn't really given their friendship before. It was actually more entertaining seeing Nick's face when I told him that Greg had figured out Sara was engaged to Hodges."

"And Greg's still alive?" Vega questioned.

"Grissom saved him. He was all set to apologise to Nick when Gris walked in a suggested that he should probably apologise to Sara rather than Nick."

"Why are you collecting a water sample? Don't you have one on record for Lake Mead?"

"Different area. This is from where the body washed up and it will give us something to compare it to if she drowned and has water in her lungs."

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

"Hey Doc." Nick said when he walked into autopsy.

"Nick."

"So was it natural causes or something more sinister?"

"I've found no physical cause of death, the contusion of his forehead happened when he hit the ground he died instantly after that. However the fever got me thinking, as there is no sign of infection not even a cold, what could raise a body's temperature to 104?"

"Ecstasy?" Nick guessed.

"Ecstasy is one example, I sent a blood and urine sample to tox they should be able to tell us more, but I didn't find any partially dissolved tablets of any kind in his stomach. But from what I understand he was on stage under hot lights, in costume that could have increased his temperature a degree or two."

"The number in which he collapsed was pretty high paced. Catherine had them re-enact it for us."

"That's an interesting way of solving a case."

"I think she just wanted to see if they would do it." Nick shrugged. "Plus I think she wanted to see Momma Mia!"

"My wife has been wanting to see that too. As for him cause of death was from overheating which shut down his vital organs. I won't know why I get the tox results back."

"So until then we have to presume that he was murdered."

"For now." Robbins nodded.

"By the way where's David I want to ask him something." Nick asked.

"He's on his way back from Lake Mead. He went out there after he left you. I had a call something about being stuck in mud and being towed out."

"It can wait. Hopefully Sara won't get stuck."

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Robbins said.

"She has my Denali today."

"Why is that?" Robbins inquired.

"I changed the radio station in hers and it got stuck on a station she refused to listen to."

"I see."

"Let me know if you hear about the tox panel before I do."

"I will and I'll see you later."

"Bye Doc."

CSI CSI

"With a rough time of death being eighteen to twenty four hours she had to have been dumped some time last night." Warrick said. David had found signs of petechial haemorrhaging which had suggested she had been smothered or strangled and had not drowned.

"Now is a case of determining where."

"Given last nights wind patterns and the fact that the body wasn't weighted down. It's highly likely it was from that direction. Feel like taking a stroll."

"I thought you'd never ask."

"So Nick tells me that he's trying to talk you into moving in with him."

"I told him when he brought it up I still had a few months left on my lease, and it's not like I don't spend most of time at his place anyway. Half my stuff is there."

"How did I never notice?" Warrick asked out loud.

"You weren't looking for it." Sara shrugged.

"When you do want to move give me a call…"

"You're already on speed dial."

"You guys thought about when you're getting married yet?" Warrick inquired.

"Not yet, he wants me to go to Texas with him to visit his family."

"You've got plenty of leave accumulated."

"I know. How far do you think she drifted before she washed up?"

"It could be quite a way." Warrick sensing that Sara wanted to switch the topic back to work.

"Hopefully someone will have reported her missing so we can get an ID."

"The old adage is true; you need someone to miss you for you to be missing."

"Well we'd miss you if you went missing." Sara told him.

"Same goes for you."

"We'd have a lot more work to do." Sara winked at him.

"Oh it's like that is it?" He nudged her.

"Maybe."

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

"So Doc Robbins said he died due to his body overheating which shut down his internal organs. For what caused him to overheat we're still waiting on the tox panel." Nick told Catherine as he walked into AV where Archie was helping Catherine compare the stills and photographs. "Doc Robbins is still undetermined so we could still be looking at a homicide."

"Okay." Catherine said.

"How's it going with the stills?"

"I wouldn't wear that if you paid me all the money bet on Fight Night in Vegas." Archie said.

"At least you have standards." Catherine said.

"I'll go and run down the evidence you took from his locker." Nick said.

"Hodges has most of it." Catherine said.

"Okay."

CSI CSI

"Hodges." Nick said when he walked into Trace.

"Stokes."

"Do you have my results yet?"

"I'm still working on it." He replied.

"Can you page me when you're done?" Nick asked.

"You know I have been hearing rumours."

"Rumours aren't worth the paper their written on."

"I thought that was verbal contracts." Hodges stated.

"Depends which judge you ask."

"Rumour has it." Hodges continued. "That Sara and I are engaged."

"You want to talk to Greg about that."

"Rumour also has it that you and Sara are engaged."

"That one is true. Now I have to get back to work page me when you get the results."

CSI CSI

"This is just typical." Sara sighed.

"We should have probably taken my Denali." Warrick stated.

"Probably."

"I'll call a tow truck." Warrick said.

"Thanks." Sara leant against the Denali and pulled out her cell phone and dialled a familiar number.

"_Stokes."_ Nick answered.

"I have a bone to pick with you mister."

"_Hello to you too."_

"Hi. I have a bone to pick with you."

"_Is something that can wait until we get home?" _Nick inquired.

"No."

"_Okay what's this bone?"_

"When we took my Denali last month because your tire went flat you changed the tire out right?"

"_Of course_."

"You didn't happen to get the flat tire replaced did you?"

"_I was getting around to it why?" _Nick asked.

"Three guess."

"_The tire blew out."_

"So Warrick and I are stranded here."

"_Do you want me to come and pick you up?"_

"We've called a tow truck." Sara said.

"_I'm sorry; I'll make it up to you."_

"You'd better."

"_By the way Hodges heard the rumour that you and he were engaged."_

"Okay now I need a shower."

"You could always jump in the lake." Warrick said over hearing her comment.

"_That Warrick?" _Nick asked.

"No the hitchhiker we picked up on route. I'll see you later."

"_Bye."_

"How long on the tow truck?" Sara asked.

"Half an hour."

"I guess we wait."

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry that?" Warrick asked as he held the door open for Sara.

"I'm fine; I'll be in an empty room."

"Okay." Warrick said as he watched her walk away.

"Did I just see Sara walk past with a tire wrapped in plastic?" Nick inquired as he ran into Warrick.

"Yes."

"Is she planning on tossing it at me for not replacing the tire?"

"No, it turns out we ran over a nail, but when we stopped we hit a broken tail light. Just in case it has anything to do with our case Sara wanted to bring the pieces back and she decided that there were too many pieces so she wrapped the whole thing and brought it back." Warrick explained.

"How far was it from where the body washed up?"

"A couple thousand feet." Warrick replied. "It could be totally unrelated. A lot of people go out to Lake Mead. But you know Sara."

"Another pole obsession." Nick asked.

"Hopefully not." Warrick said as they walked. "How's your case going?"

"He died because his body overheated. What caused it we're still waiting on tox which seems to be backlogged; Hodges still has the trace evidence and is refusing to relinquish it or any results just yet. Catherine is still with Archie going over stills making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be."

"So you're wandering the halls."

"I fixed the radio on Sara's Denali." Nick said.

"I heard a rumour that Catherine had them give her her own private showing of Momma Mia!"

"Which is true, but for only scientific reasons."

"Of course." Warrick winked at him. "She just wanted to measure the decibel level."

"Of course." Nick's pager bleeped. "David, they got the Tox report back."

"I heading over that way myself I'll go with you."

CSI CSI.

Sara walked into the garage looking for something, totally ignoring Grissom and Greg who were examining the underside of the car that they had towed back in.

Sara began mutter as she searched.

Greg looked at Grissom then they both looked at Sara with curiosity.

"Can we help you?" Grissom asked.

Sara jumped slightly.

"Have you seen the tire iron?" Sara asked.

"Why do you want a tire iron? I thought you had a body that washed up at Lake Mead." Greg queried.

"We did."

"I'm little confused myself." Grissom admitted.

"We ran over a nail and got a flat tire on the way back and we also hit a broken tail light. It could have something to do with the case and now I need a tire iron."

"Here." Greg handed her one.

"Thanks. Wow." Sara said looking at the inside of the car. "Did he park it in a few feet of water a night?"

"No why?" Greg asked.

"A car this new shouldn't have water marks inside that high not unless he… Where did you say he crashed?"

"Why?"

"He has a busted taillight and since it seems that the front of the car was what took the impact. Any chance he reversed it into Lake Mead in the last 24 hours and dumped a body?"

"We'll check for trace and anything else." Grissom promised her. "Any ID on the body?"

"No, female late twenties, well dressed, probably suffocated." Sara replied.

"Well let you know if you find anything." Grissom assured her.

"I should get back. Thanks for the tire iron."

"Do you really think our case is related to Sara's?" Greg asked once she was gone.

"I have seen stranger things. We'll go over the whole car just to be sure."

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

"So Doc?" Nick said when he and Warrick walked into autopsy.

"There are traces of ecstasy, barbiturates, amphetamines and the list goes on." Doc Robbins handed the report.

"That's one giant cocktail." Warrick stated.

"I check there body there no injection marks, or any other signs that he uses drugs of any kind." Robbins stated.

"You said there were no tablets either so this has to have been dissolved into a liquid form."

"It would have been a quick reaction, his temperature would have shot up, with the lights it wouldn't have taken long for him to die." Robbins stated.

Nick's pager went off.

"Hodges with his results. It's like buses with results today. You wait and you wait and then they all come at once."

"When was the last time you were on a bus?" Warrick asked.

"Well Catherine and I had a DB on a tour bus a few years ago, and that bus crash outside Barstow."

"I meant a bus without dead people."

"It would have been in Dallas, I took a couple of my nieces to the Aquarium, but that was about six years ago."

"On the bus?"

"They thought it was a big adventure, they would have only been five and seven at the time." Nick replied. "Thanks for the results Doc. I should get back to the lab."

"If you have any more questions I'll be here."

"So Doc…" Warrick said when Nick had gone. "Any thing on the girl from Lake Mead?"

"I taken fingerprints, a blood, and urine sample and carried out a visual inspection of the body. The petechial haemorrhaging suggests she was suffocated rather than drowned. Her clothes are over there. Still no ID."

"Thanks."

"If you want to take them with you I'll let you know when I have an official cause of death."

"Thanks Doc. Are you coming by later for…"

"I'll be there." Robbins confirmed.

"I'll talk to you later."

CSI CSI

"Hey Cath."

"Nick." Catherine said. "There was definitely something wrong with him when he came out on stage for the start of this number. He looked fine earlier."

"He died from his body temperature skyrocketing in a few minutes, from a cocktail of the worse drugs on the market which were dissolved in his water bottle. The concentrations in the water bottle are too high to be just backwash. Someone ground down the drugs and dissolved them in the water."

"Was it our vic or murder?"

"Doc Robbins found no indications that he took anything other than aspirin on a normal basis." Nick replied.

"So murder is back in play." Catherine replied.

"Looks that way. There was also a fingerprint on the water bottle that isn't our vics, no hits on any of the databases."

"It looks like we need to take the fingerprints of everyone who has access to the backstage areas of the theatre."

"Doc Robbins said it would have been quick so he would have had to drink it during the interval since this was the first number after it."

"Everyone was sent home, but Brass has names and addresses."

"Looks like it's time to wake a few people up." Nick said.

"Or we wait until tomorrow and hit the stage door before the performance and then track down everyone who wasn't there." Catherine suggested.

"Either way it's up to you." Nick stated. "But I need some coffee."

"Brass is looking into Justin's background a little more. Let's see who would have a motive to kill him and go from there." Catherine decided.

"Want to look at his apartment?" Nick suggested.

"As long as we're back here by the end of shift."

"What's happening at the end of shift?" Nick asked.

"Nothing to concern you right now." Catherine replied.

"Well I'll go and get us both some coffee and get an address from Brass."

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

"So Sarah how's it going?" Warrick asked as she was finishing photograph the pieced together parts of the tail light.

"It's a high probably that this tail light comes from the car Greg and Grissom have in the garage."

"Anything other than a broken taillight lead you to that conclusion?" Warrick asked.

"The car has a tide mark on the inside."

"Which would indicate that it had been in a few feet of water."

"They're going to search the interior and the trunk for us once they're done with the undercarriage." Sara added. "What's in the bags?"

"Vic's clothes. I thought I'd take a quick look before I hung them up to dry. There are no hits with the fingerprints at the moment. Mia is going to run the DNA when she gets a chance."

"Good."

"By the way Nick was worried you were going to throw the tire at him." Warrick informed her.

"It would be easier to throw Oddjob's bowler hat."

"I didn't know you were a James Bond fan." Warrick commented.

"I'm not really. One of my foster mothers had a crush on Sean Connery." Warrick didn't say anything. "Nick mentioned that he told you about my parents."

"Yeah. I'm sorry Sara."

"It was a long time ago. Can you not tell anyone else? I'd rather not have people look at me differently because my mother stabbed my father to death."

"It's just between us." Warrick agreed. "But that must have been a tough thing to go through as a kid."

"Watching your father beat your mother is a hard thing too."

"I guess it explains why domestic violence cases hit you so hard."

"I hated foster care; science was the one constant in my life that made sense. The one thing my mom did right before she was sent to jail. She made the lawyer take the money she had been squirreling away into a bank account which he drew up papers saying we got when we turned 18. It paid for my dorm room the first semester at Harvard and some books. I worked two jobs to pay the rest of it myself."

"You didn't turn out too badly."

"I'm in need of years worth of therapy." Sara said. "But as much as I like this job, it's also my way of paying penance."

"Penance for what?" Warrick asked.

"Not calling the cops or telling someone before it got that far."

"Sara you were a kid it wasn't your fault." Warrick told her.

"This is why I don't talk about it." Sara wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Need a hug?"

"I need to figure out who she is."

"Okay." Warrick said knowing she needed him to drop the subject. "Let's take a look at these clothes."

"Would you look at that carpet fibres." Warrick said when he lifted them from the back of her jeans.

"What colour?"

"I'll have to look under the microscope but it looks grey."

"If we can match it to the back of the car Grissom has."

"What if it isn't that car?"

"It will still help us narrow it down." Sara said. "Besides something good should happen today."

"Why is that?"

"It's the 19th anniversary today."

"But you were in such a good mood earlier."

"I forgot until I had to write the date down. It was a long time ago."

"Does Nick know?"

"No. Don't tell him." Sara replied.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Let's get those fibres to trace get an exact colour match. I'll go and see if I can get a sample from Grissom."

"Hey Sara." Greg said.

"Did you get a carpet sample from inside the trunk?" Sara inquired.

"Carpet sample, grey and we also got a water sample I'm presuming you got a sample from Lake Mead." Grissom said.

"Warrick did." Sara confirmed.

"We also found some other trace." Grissom said.

"Warrick found some carpet fibres on the back of her jeans. Grey."

"Hey Sara are you okay?" Greg asked.

"I'm fine why?"

"You're mascara is smudged."

"I rubbed my eye earlier." Sara rubbed under her eye. "Better?"

"Yes."

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

"Sara." Mia said when she caught up with her in the halls.

"Yes?"

"I ran your DNA sample through the databases no match, but then I ran some hair samples on a different case and the DNA came back a match to your vic." Mia showed her the case. "I double checked it in case it was a mistake."

"Which case was the DNA a match too?" Sara asked hoping that Mia would give her the answer she was looking for.

"Grissom's case." Mia replied.

"You just proved me right. Thanks Mia."

"You knew there was a connection between the two cases?" Mia questioned.

"I suspected. A gut instinct."

"Good call." Mia said. "I should get back to the lab; I'll see you at shift change."

"Okay." Sara was starting to get a little suspicious of what was going on but let it go.

Sara made her way to trace.

"Hodges." She said.

"Sara. I've been hearing rumours."

"Don't listen to rumours." Sara replied. "Did you compare those samples we took to those with the ones Greg and Grissom took?"

"The results are just printing." He said. "But I can tell you that the carpet fibres are consistent."

"Good." Sara snatched the results before Hodges could.

"Excuse me."

"You're excused. Thank you."

Sara took the results and left before Hodges could say anything else.

Sara was too busy paying attention to what she had in her hands that she failed notice that she was about to walk straight into someone.

"Sorry." She automatically apologised.

"You know you can run into me any time you like darlin'." Nick drawled.

"Oh hey."

"Sorry about the tire."

"It's okay it actually helped towards solving our case. I really have to go, I'll see you later?"

"Always." Nick winked at her.

Sara started to walk away then stop.

"Hey Nick."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what's going on at the end of shift?"

"Not a clue." He replied.

"Okay. See you later."

"Sara." Grissom said when he saw her.

"I was just coming to find you."

"Hodges isn't too happy with you."

"I stole his results. It's Greg he's unhappy with." Sara said. "The hairs you found in the back of the car are a match to our vic, as are the carpet fibres and the water is consistent with that of the sample that Warrick took tonight from Lake Mead."

"So it looks like we need to bring Mr Dickenson in for questioning."

"We still don't know who she is." Sara said.

"We'll find out." Grissom told her. "Tell Warrick and Greg, have them keep working on identifying her and meet me at PD."

"Nick's Denali is still in having its tire replaced." Sara reminded him.

"Get Greg to give you his keys." Grissom told her.

"Thanks Grissom."

"Hey Sara." Warrick said looking from where he was showing Greg something.

"DNA, carpet fibres and the water sample are all a match. Grissom's having Dickenson brought in. He wants you two too stay here and keep working on figuring out who our Jane Doe is." Sara informed them.

"That's good news." Warrick said recalling their earlier conversation.

"Grissom also said to get your keys Greg."

"Why do you want my keys?"

"Nick's car is still in the shop." Sara replied. "I've got to meet him over at PD."

"Can't you get your Denali back from Nick?"

"He still needs it. Don't worry I won't mess up your suspension."

"Sara knows more about how cars work than you do." Warrick reminded him.

"Be careful with my baby." He reluctantly handed over the keys.

"Greg it's department issue." Sara reminded him.

"I know but it my first department issue."

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

"Hey Nick, have you seen Grissom?" Catherine asked.

"He's over at PD. The body that was dumped at Lake Mead was in the trunk of the car that he and Greg were investigating before and after it reversed into the lake."

"That's unfortunate for the driver." Catherine said.

"But good for the case."

"So Grissom and Greg are over at PD."

"No Greg is with Warrick trying to figure out who the dead girl is and what the connection is. I ran into Greg, Grissom made him give Sara the keys to his Denali." Nick explained.

"I thought she had yours."

"Flat tire, which turned out to be good for their case, they stopped near a broken tail light which helped connect them to Grissom's car. Greg's concerned since its Sara's third Denali tonight."

"The first one shouldn't count since it was your fault."

"I know, no messing with the radio. It's fixed now anyway." Nick shrugged. "What did you need Grissom for anyway?"

"I just wanted to ask him something, it can wait. Brass finally located where Justin was living, it seems he's been moving around a lot lately. He's going to meet us there in twenty minutes."

"Let's go." Nick said.

"You know it's sweet." Catherine said.

"Brass getting an address?" Nick questioned.

"No, how you light up when you talk about Sara."

"I don't."

"You do. You should try not to loose that."

CSI CSI

"Thank you for coming in Mr Dickenson." Grissom said.

"The police said I could go home, that they were happy it was an accident."

"Actually you hit a mail box, which could be construed as interfering with the mail which is a federal crime." Grissom stated.

"It was an accident." Dickenson insisted.

"Nothing with your car indicates that there was anything wrong with it." Grissom stated.

"Although you had a tail light out before the accident which is going to get you a ticket." Sara added.

"Who are you exactly?"

"Sara Sidle Crime lab." Sara introduced herself.

"Why do you think my tail light was out?" Dickenson inquired.

"Because I found pieces of it out at Lake Mead." Sara stated.

"I haven't been to Lake Mead."

"Has anyone else driven your car in the last 48 hours?" Grissom inquired. "Our information shows that you're the only one insured to drive it."

"No of course not."

"Then you were out at Lake Mead, and you reversed your car into the water." Sara showed him pictures of the water mark. "Takes a while to dry."

"That's preposterous."

"No. It's the easy way to get a body from the trunk into the water. Less distance to carry it."

"What body?"

"The woman's body you dumped into the water." Sara showed her the photographs. "Do you want to tell us her name?"

"Sorry you've got the wrong guy."

"The evidence says otherwise." Grissom said.

"I think I should call my lawyer."

"Good idea." Sara said. "But we still need her name."

"I'm not saying anything until my lawyer gets here."

"Fine." Grissom said.

"Are you okay?" Grissom asked Sara when they stepped outside.

"I just want to find out who she is." Sara stated as her cell phone rang. "Sidle." She answered. "Okay… okay… thanks Warrick."

"Anything interesting?"

"Our vic was pregnant about five weeks. Doc Robbins got a DNA sample."

"We'll need a court order for his DNA sample." Grissom said.

"There is a quicker way." Sara said heading off down the corridor to the soda machine.

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

"So what's the verdict Mia?" Sara asked.

"I'm still running the tests. It takes a few hours, you know that Sara. But I'll let you know as soon as I know anything."

"Thanks Mia." Sara hung up.

"Sara, it takes time to run a DNA sample it's not like spraying Luminol and getting an instant result." Grissom reminded her.

"I know." Sara sat down.

"Is something bothering you, you were in a better mood early."

"I just remember something I'd forgotten about earlier that's all."

"Anything I can help with?" Grissom inquired.

"It's just something that happened a long time ago." Sara replied. "I'm fine."

"Tell Nick if you don't want to tell me. Talking about these things can help."

"Hasn't helped for the last twenty years, I doubt it will now. But thanks for the advice."

"Sara, Grissom. His lawyer got into a little fender bender so he's going to be a while if you want to go back to the lab. We'll page you when he gets here."

"We'll wait." Grissom said.

CSI CSI

"Okay there is nothing here." Nick said as they finished go over Justin's residence.

"He's obviously not been here long." Catherine said.

"How long does it take you to trash a hotel room?"

"I have a daughter I don't get to stay in hotel rooms very often." Catherine pointed out.

"Most people end up with things around them clothes dropped on the floor, you make yourself at home, especially if you're staying anywhere for an extended period of time. This place isn't exactly high class."

"So you're saying the place is too clean."

"Apparently a place can never be too clean, but don't you think it's too clean especially for an apparently single guy?"

"Either someone cleaned up or he's actually staying somewhere else."

"It's possible."

"Then I think we're down to the print." Catherine said glancing at her watch. "Let's head back go over what we have and then everything can wait until we have to come in early for tomorrow."

"How early are we talking?" Nick asked.

"Five. If we take the computer fingerprint machine we can run the prints against the one we have and find a match that way we should be done before the show goes on stage and we can probably go home before we start shift and I can get make sure my kid gets to bed at a decent hour."

"Sounds like a plan."

CSI CSI

"Hey Nicky." Catherine said.

"Yes?"

"Be in the break room at the end of shift."

"What's going on?" Nick asked.

"You'll have to wait and see. Oh and don't kill Greg."

"I wasn't planning on it." Nick said. "But that doesn't include not making him squirm."

"Hey Nick." Warrick said when he saw him. "Greg I'll be back in a minute."

"Hey man how's the case going."

"Vic was pregnant, and I think Sara's taking trying to find out who she was a little too seriously."

"You know how Sara is about certain cases."

"Can we go in here?" Warrick suggested.

"Okay." Nick agreed. "What's up man?"

"I thought I should give you a quick heads up."

"About what?"

"I was talking to Sara earlier. She didn't remember until she had to write the date down. Today is the 19th anniversary."

"Of the day her Dad died." Nick finished. "I knew it was this month but I didn't know when exactly. Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem, she says she's okay. That it was a long time ago. I just thought you should know."

"Thanks."

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

"I can't believe he refused to tell us anything." Sara said when they walked out of the interview.

"We can prove she was in the trunk of the car and that it went into Lake Mead where her body was found." Grissom said.

"Did you find any other prints or hairs in the car that would indicate anyone else was driving it?"

"No." Grissom replied.

"And we still don't know who she is."

"Greg and Warrick went to Dickenson's apartment. Maybe they will have found something to help us give her a name." Grissom said optimistically.

"Maybe."

"We should head back to the lab."

"I just have to run to the bathroom, so I'll meet you back there."

"Okay." Grissom agreed.

Sara managed to control herself until she got to the ladies room but then broken down into tears. She stepped over to the wall and slid down until she was sat on the floor, her hand gripped tightly around her engagement ring which was still on the chain around her neck.

"Miss, are you okay?" One of the female officers asked when she entered the room.

"I'm fine." Sara said quickly wiping her face.

"You work at the crime lab right?" She said recognising Sara.

"Right. Sara Sidle. Sorry it's just been a long night." She swiped at her eyes again.

"It's okay." The officer grabbed her some toilet roll to wipe her eyes. "I'm Lisa Deluko." She paused. "Nothing bad happened did it?"

"We have a dead pregnant woman and a guy who won't tell us who she is even thought we can prove he dumped her body. There's some other personal stuff going on and I think my co-workers are planning an impromptu engagement party at the end of shift."

"That's nice of them. I'm on a break; do you want to grab some coffee?" Lisa offered. "Or do you have to get back?"

"Coffee would be good."

"You might want to splash some water on your face, your mascara ran."

"Thanks."

"I just have to…" Lisa pointed towards the stalls.

"Sorry. Go ahead."

CSI CSI

"Hey Warrick." Greg called from the bathroom.

"Yeah man." Warrick stood in the door.

"Someone is pregnant." He held up a pregnancy test.

"Could be our vics. Any way to tell?" Warrick asked Greg since he was the DNA expert.

"Urine doesn't contain DNA, be sometimes people urinate epithelials so it's possible that we might be able to a DNA comparison. But we'd probably have better luck with fingerprints back at the lab. Did you find anything he could have smothered her with?"

"I've taken all the sheets and pillow cases from the bed, cushions from the couch."

"So we're thinking our vic takes the pregnancy test it comes up positive. She tells him, he freaks out smothers her."

"Probably while she was asleep, she had limited signs of a struggle." Warrick added.

"He puts her in the trunk of his car, drives out to Lake Mead, reverses in dumps the body, drives back like nothing happened and then later takes a corner too fast and takes out the mail box."

"Plausible." Warrick said.

"You ever have a girl tell you she's pregnant."

"So far I've dodged that bullet. You?"

"Once, but it turned out to be a false positive. There are no little Sanders running around to the best of my knowledge."

"For which the world is grateful."

"Back to the subject at hand." Greg suggested. "We're still no closer to an ID on our Jane Doe."

"If you've got a girlfriend you call her perhaps we should check his phone records?"

"Unless she was a one night stand." Greg suggested.

"Let's work on the assumption that she was his girlfriend."

"How about we talk to the neighbours see if they recognise her picture?" Greg offered.

"Let's try it."

TBC


	26. Chapter 26

Sara arrived back at the lab a good half hour after Grissom had.

"Hey Sara." Archie said.

"Hey Archie."

"Have you seen Grissom?" Archie inquired.

"No, I just got back." Sara replied. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I'll see you later."

"See you later." Sara said before heading towards DNA.

"Sara." Mia said looking up from where there was a man examining the equipment.

"Any results for me?" Sara asked hopefully.

"I was about to call you. The machine broken down in the middle of the foetal DNA analysis. I have enough to run it again but for now I can't do anything."

"How long do you think it will take to repair?" Sara asked.

"We're looking a few hours at least." The repairman said. "Maybe more."

"You'll be the top of the queue when it's repaired." Mia assured her. "We should have something for you by the time you get in for your next shift. I'm really sorry."

"Thanks anyway."

"I'll see you later." Mia said.

"Okay."

"Hey Sara." Greg called to her. "You got my keys?

"Yes." Sara handed them over. "Did you find anything at his house?"

"Positive pregnancy test. I'm going to see if Mia can pull any DNA off of it before I fingerprint it. Warrick has all the cushions, pillows, sheets from his place. We'll see if we can get something from their too."

"You can't get any DNA tests right now, there is a problem with the machine and it's going to take a while to fix." Sara replied.

"Okay." Greg said. "I guess DNA is going to be back logged for a while."

"If you get the samples to Mia now, she'll probably add them with mine." Sara said.

"Okay." He paused. "By the way we might have a potential first name for our vic."

"And you're just bringing it up now?" Sara questioned.

"We spoke to some of Dickenson's neighbours, some of whom weren't too happy at being woken up this early in the morning. One of them possibly recognised her from the picture we showed them."

"And that name?" Sara prompted.

"Lisa. But he's not 100 certain."

"It's better than anything we got." Sara admitted.

"The place did show any signs of a struggle. Conjecture would be she told him she was pregnant and he smothered her in her sleep."

"He's not talking. Even though we can prove his car was the one who dumped her body."

"But we can't prove murder just yet." Greg said. "I'll go and log this in to evidence and see you in the break room in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Sara questioned.

"Shift ends in ten minutes." Greg reminded her.

"I'll help you go over the evidence."

"Sara, we'll take care of it when we come in tonight."

"She deserves something." Sara said.

"We can't really do anymore until DNA is up and running again." Greg pointed out. "They're going to hold him for dumping her body they have 24 hours for that, and then we'll prove that he killed her and we'll figure out what her name is. But for now shift is over and you need to go the break room."

"Greg I still have plenty of overtime left this month." Sara pointed out.

"Do you want me to get Nick?"

"I hate to point this out to you Greg but I'm an adult and my own person. Nick doesn't get a say in whether I work overtime or not."

"Sara."

"You know, I'm going home sign me out." Sara turned and walked off.

"Sara!" He called after her. He grabbed his cell phone and dialled.

"_Stokes."_ Nick answered.

"Where are you?"

"_Trace." _Nick replied. "_Why?"_

"I was just talking to Sara and she flipped out. She said she was going home."

"_Does she still have the keys to your Denali?"_

"No."

"_I'll take care of it. Thanks Greg."_

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

"Sar'." Nick said as he approached where she was leant against her Denali.

"You still have my keys."

"I noticed."

"I want to go home." Sara said.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Nick asked.

"It's been a long night, DNA is down and I can do anything until next shift. So I want to go home."

"Warrick told me today was the anniversary. You should have said something."

"It usually doesn't bother me this much, but it's been a lousy night."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nick offered.

"Not really." Sara replied as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Come here." Nick wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay darlin'."

"It's stupid to cry about it."

"Sara, however bad a father and a husband he was, he was still your father and it still tore your life apart. You're allowed to be upset about it any time you want." Nick assured her.

"It was a long time ago." Sara mumbled against his shoulder.

"Trust me if you don't deal with things they'll still eat away at you. It's okay."

"I can't do this here." Sara said realising they were in the middle of the parking lot.

"Just give me a minute to run inside and tell them that whatever their planning is off for now and then I'll come back and drive you home."

"I can drive myself home." Sara said.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I don't get my Denali back until tonight, so I'm going to need a ride."

"Okay."

"I'll be right back."

"You know they were throwing us an engagement party." Sara said.

"They'll just have to reschedule. I'll be five minutes."

"Okay." Nick gave her the keys.

"Nicky." Catherine said when she caught him on the way to the break room.

"Hey Cath. Can you do me a favour and apologise to everyone, I'm going to take Sara home."

"You can't stay for ten minutes?" Catherine asked.

"Let's just say a bad memory from Sara's past came back to haunt her, she's a little upset and since her case has stalled since there is a problem in DNA, I'm going to take her home she's waiting in the car."

"Okay." Catherine said.

"I'll see you at five." Nick told her.

"Hey guys." Catherine said when she reached the break room. "Party's off."

"Off?" Grissom questioned.

"Nick's taking Sara home."

"Is she okay? She seemed a little off earlier." Grissom questioned.

"Personal issue." Catherine replied. "We can reschedule for tonight."

"It's just something from her past that she needs to deal with." Warrick said.

"Since everyone seems to have a delay with their cases I'll see you at the start of shift. Let everyone else know."

CSI CSI

"Where do you want to go?" Nick inquired.

"Can we go back to my apartment?" Sara asked. "There's something I need to get."

"Okay." Nick agreed and headed in the direction of her apartment. "How are you doing?"

"I don't know why today it me harder than it has in the last ten years."

"Lousy day." Nick said. "It's okay to cry."

"Right."

"I fixed your radio." Nick said after she sighed. "Loose wire."

"Thanks."

"Come on Sar, talk to me."

"I don't feel like talking right now." Sara said.

"Okay." Nick conceded. "By the way I have to meet Catherine at the Mandalay Bay at five."

"Okay." Sara said.

"It's for our case. We need to fingerprint everyone with backstage access to the theatre; it's easier to do it when they're all there."

"Okay." Sara said.

TBC


	28. Chapter 28

Sara told Nick she would be right back when they reached her apartment and for him to stay in the Denali.

Nick agreed and sat waiting patiently for her to return. When she did she was carrying a larger than average shoe box, she got back into the Denali and set the box on her lap.

"We can go now." She told him.

"Back to my place?" Nick asked. Sara nodded.

When they arrived Nick locked up the car while Sara let herself in and set the dusty box on the coffee table and sat down on the couch staring at it.

Nick could tell she didn't want to talk right now, so he went and made them both a drink.

"Thanks." Sara said when he handed it to her and sat down beside her.

"You're welcome." Nick replied and remained silent waiting for Sara to say something. Even if he wasn't a CSI Nick's curiosity would have still had him wanting to know what was in the box, but he knew he had to wait for Sara to want to show him.

Sara leant her head against his shoulder and curled up her legs. Nick kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry." Sara said after a while.

"Sorry for what?"

"Making you leave work."

"Sar' there's nowhere else I'd be right now." Nick assured her.

"You want to know what's in the box don't you?"

"Not unless you want me to."

"I haven't opened it since I moved here, it's been sitting in the back of my closet."

"Explains the dust."

"Ask me."

"Ask what?" The look she gave him gave him a hint. "What's in the box?"

"My childhood." Sara replied.

"Childhood?"

"After my father died, one of the cops and a woman from child protective services was nice enough to take us back to the house so we could get some things. I had a trash bag of clothes and that box. It's got photographs and things from my room."

"It's a nice thing to have."

"I had to leave all my books behind and my cat."

"You had a cat?" Nick questioned.

"Copernicus." Sara replied. "Dad hated him. I never got to see him again."

"That's tough."

"Every time I got moved from foster home to foster home, I had a trash bag of clothes and that box."

"Strong box." He paused. "Are you going to open it?"

"I don't know."

"You can leave it there until you decide or we can put it in a closet here until you're ready." Nick stroked her hair.

"Can we leave it there for now?" Sara asked.

"Of course." He paused. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really."

"Me either, how about we go and get some sleep?"

"I need to take a shower first." Sara said.

"I'll just lock the door. So go ahead."

"Thank you for everything Nick."

"I love you nothing is going to change that." Nick assured her.

"I love you too."

When Sara left the room, Nick looked at the box wondering what little pieces of Sara's past were contained within. Until she was ready to deal with it he was more than willing to let the box remain in its present location.

Nick locked the front door and went and checked the lock on the back door and the door to the attic were secure after the incident with his stalker the attic door always had a lock on it so he would know if anyone had tampered with it.

He heard the water stop as he finished getting ready for bed and set the alarm clock so he would be awake in time to meet Catherine.

Sara yawned as she entered the bedroom.

"I don't know why I'm so tired; I only got up about 11 hours ago." Sara said.

"A long shift." Nick replied.

Sara climbed into the bed and curled up next to him.

"Goodnight." She said.

"Wake me up if you need anything or want to talk."

"Okay."

"Sweet dreams." He kissed her and then they settled down to sleep.

TBC


	29. Chapter 29

Nick woke up just before his alarm went off. He glanced over to the side of the bed and found it empty; placing a hand on the mattress he found it cold which meant Sara had been up for a while.

He switched the alarm off so it wouldn't ring and got out of bed to go and find her. He found her dressed and sat on the couch nursing a mug of coffee and staring at the box which still hadn't been opened.

"Hey." He said hoping not to startle her too much.

"Hey to you too."

"How long have you been up?"

"About an hour." She replied.

"Still haven't made a decision about the box?"

"Not yet."

"Okay." Nick replied. "Need a hug?"

"You should get ready for work; you don't want to hold up the production."

"You know Catherine is probably going to stay and watch the show, just for scientific purposes."

"She mentioned something about wanting to see it a while ago." Sara recalled.

"Sounds about right."

"You hungry?" Sara inquired.

"You making or sending out?" Nick asked.

"I can probably manage pancakes."

"Pancakes would be good."

"Or French Toast."

"Either way is good." Nick stated. "I'll take a quick shower and get dressed."

"You might want to shave; you seem to have 4 o'clock shadow."

"Thanks for the advice." He was glad she was in a slightly better mood.

"That was great." Nick said when he finished eating.

"You know working graveyard really screws up your eating patterns." Sara commented.

"Breakfast food is good whatever time of the day."

"Some of it." Sara agreed.

"I've got to leave to meet Catherine in about fifteen minutes. Do you want to talk before I go?" He offered.

"I think it's going to be a longer conversation than fifteen minutes." Sara replied. "But thanks for offering."

"You know if you don't feel you can talk to me about it, the department has a…"

"I made an appointment with her for tomorrow." Sara said.

"Good."

"Can I ask a favour?"

"Of course." Nick wondered what she would want.

"Do you mind if I come with you? I don't want to be alone right now."

"When you have to fingerprint 50 people the more hands on deck the better."

"I think with fifty people you'll have more than enough hands, it's the trained eyes you need."

"Which ever you're more than welcome to come with us and help out." Nick told her.

"Thanks. I'll go and put some shoes on."

"Take your time."

CSI CSI

"Hey Nicky." Catherine said when he got out of the Denali. "Sara."

"Sara came to help out." Nick told her.

"I didn't want to stay at home and thought you could use some help."

"More the merrier." Catherine said. "Are you feeling better?"

"It's the anniversary of my Dad's death. I forgot about it."

"That's tough. How long ago?"

"Nineteen years. Can we not talk about it?"

"Sure." Catherine replied.

"I didn't expect to see you here Sara." Brass said walking over.

"I thought I'd help out." Sara stuffed her hand in her pockets.

"I have the paperwork." Brass said.

"I grabbed the equipment we needed on the way over here, so let's go and get this done and catch our potential killer." Catherine stated.

TBC


	30. Chapter 30

"Mr Littlewood." Catherine said as the group approached him.

"Ms Willows." The director replied. "I thought we covered everything we needed to earlier."

"That was then." Catherine replied. "Now we have a court order for everyone's fingerprints."

"Fingerprints?" He questioned. "We have a production to put on. There already have been enough interruptions."

"Anyone who doesn't comply with the court order is coming down to the station." Brass said.

"The sooner you cooperate the sooner we're out of here." Sara added.

"And who exactly may you be?" Littlewood asked.

"This is Sara Sidle; also from the crime lab she's here to help this process go a lot quicker." Catherine replied.

"If you could gather everyone together." Brass suggested. "We can get this process started."

Littlewood huffed and then went off to gather everyone together.

"Directors!" Catherine shrugged. "Nicky set up the equipment and establish the link up."

"I'll give him a hand." Sara offered.

"I'll take care of making sure that everyone who was here last night is here now." Brass added.

"I guess that leaves me with briefing the temperamental actors." Catherine said.

"That's show business." Brass stated.

For some reason Sara couldn't help but laugh hysterically.

"Was it something I said?" Brass inquired.

"Thanks I needed that." Sara said. "Let's find a place to get the equipment set up."

"Just out of curiosity what was funny?" Nick inquired as they found a table to set the equipment on.

"I got a mental image of Brass dressed up in sequins singing, There's No Business Like Show Business."

"Actually that would be pretty funny and something I'd pay good money to see."

"Now if we could Greg to join him in a Ra ra skirt then we'd definitely have a show."

"Ra ra skirt?" Nick questioned.

"Why not?" Sara shrugged and then ran her thumb over the band of her engagement ring.

Nick studied her for a minute.

"I have your first batch of candidates." Brass said.

"Please form an orderly queue, and I'll just take your names and a quick photograph." Sara stated.

"Is this going to take long we have to be on stage in a couple hours?"

"The less you complain the quicker it will go." Sara said. "Right name?"

"Ronald Peterson." He replied. Sara wrote a one by his name on the list and took a photograph with digital camera.

"Proceed to stage two." Sara told him.

"Place your right hand on the plate." Nick instructed.

"What no ink?"

"This way is a lot quicker and leaves no reside to can in some instances take days to get off."

"Next." Sara said hiding a slight smile.

A quick comparison between the fingerprints and the sample print they had, revealed that Peterson was not the person they were looking for.

"You can go." Nick replied.

"Good."

"Name?" Sara prompted.

"First batch are in the clear." Nick said once they were done.

"That's the main characters out." Brass crossed his arms.

"I guess the show can go on." Sara said.

"And the words of probably every casting director in the country." Nick paused. "Next."

"I didn't buy it." Brass said. "Did you?" He asked Sara.

"Not really, I think you'll have to work on that." She teased. "Do you want to bring us the next batch?"

"I'll be right back." Brass said.

"You've definitely cheered up." Nick commented.

"The image of Brass singing will do that for you."

"Have you made a decision about the box?" He inquired.

"Can it stay where it is for a while?" Sara asked.

"As long as you like."

TBC


	31. Chapter 31

After the two groups Sara and Nick swapped roles.

"Put your hand here." Sara instructed. The computer scanned his hand and the internal circuits whirled running a comparison of the fingerprints.

A bar flashed up signifying a match.

Sara looked at Brass and nodded.

"Sir, if you'd just step over here." Brass suggested.

Nick looked over his shoulder at Sara, she nodded. They both knew a prosecutor might question it so there were going to finish fingerprinting everyone.

When they had finished this batch there were only another five to go.

"Can I go yet?" The guy inquired. "I have to be on stage in less than two hours and I need to finish getting ready and warmed up.

"Not right now, you need to stay here." Brass stated.

"There are only a few more people." Sara told him.

Nick pulled out his cell phone and dialled Catherine.

"_Willows."_ She answered.

"Cath, it's me. Do you want to send the final group over?"

"_Any luck so far?"_

"Yes." Nick replied. "But we're almost done with everybody."

"_Suspect there?"_

"Brass has that under control." Nick stated.

"_I'll bring them over myself."_

"I'll see you in a minute." He hung up. "Catherine is bringing the last few over now." He informed Sara.

"That's good." Sara said.

"So guys are we rescheduling the thing we had planned last night for tonight?" Brass inquired.

"As far as I know." Sara replied. "Sorry about running out like that."

"Is whatever it was resolved?" Brass inquired.

"I'm working on it." Sara said. "But I'm definitely in a better mood."

"As much as I like standing around listening to your social plans." The guy said. "Can I go?"

"You know what go ahead and put him in the car." Brass told the other two officers who had come with him.

"What I'm being arrested?"

"No, you're being detained for questioning in the matter of the death of Justin Priestly." Brass corrected. "Take him away."

"You know Nick taking a girl to catch a killer is an interesting way to show her a good time." Sara commented.

"Only the best for you darlin'." Nick winked at her.

"Were you two always like this?" Brass inquired.

"Slightly more subtle when we were at work, but yes." Sara replied.

"How did everyone not notice?"

"I have always lightly flirted with her." Nick shrugged.

"Greg was the one who made very unsubtle passes." Sara pointed out.

"That's Greg for you." Nick remarked.

"Being subtle is never a bad thing." Sara stated adjusting her ring.

"That thing is real isn't it?" Brass asked.

"It's real." Nick replied. "Trust me I check, and Warrick wants to too. I have the receipt if you want to see it."

"Can I?" Sara asked.

"No." Nick told her.

"Spoilsport."

"If you'll just line up." Catherine said as she led the remaining people to be fingerprints. "We'll make this as quick as we can."

"Smile." Nick said as he took a photograph. "Your name?"

"So where is our guy with matching prints?" Catherine whispered to Brass.

"Out in the patrol car." He replied. "He was being a jerk about waiting."

"I see."

"Are we on for the end of shift?"

"We should be. Depending on what comes in tonight." Catherine replied.

"How much longer to we're done?"

"About five ten minutes."

TBC


	32. Chapter 32

"I'll just drop the equipment back at the lab and I'll meet you at PD." Catherine told Brass.

"Take Nick with and I'll drop sign it back into the lab." Sara said.

Nick looked at her.

"That would be great." Catherine said. "But are you sure you want to head over there?"

"I want to check on how the repairs are going in DNA anyway." Sara stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"I'll help her carry this out to the Denali." Nick offered.

"I should go and tell the director that he's another cast member down."

"Good luck with that." Sara said.

"I'll meet you guys there." Brass told them.

"Are you sure you want to go into the lab?" Nick asked once they were gone.

"It's either that or go home and stare at the box until it's time to go to work. This seems more productive."

"If you need me call." Nick told her.

"Right now I need you to help me pack this stuff up."

"I can manage that."

CSI CSI

Grissom entered the break room he had arrived three hours early to catch up on some paperwork that was stacking up on his desk and had gone to the break room to get some coffee before he got to work.

He found Sara asleep on one of the couches, with an open forensics journal which she had obviously been reading.

"Sara." Grissom woke her up.

"Grissom." Sara rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Just gone nine." He replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for the DNA results." Sara answered. "They finally fixed the problem. They tested it and now they are running our samples."

"Okay. How long have you been here?"

"A couple hours. I went and helped Nick and Catherine with fingerprinting the cast of Momma Mia. They have a suspect in custody, so I said I'd bring the equipment back while they went to PD with Brass."

"Okay. You didn't want to go home?"

"I thought I'd wait out for the results. I obviously fell asleep."

"I see." Grissom said. "Do you want some coffee?"

"That's left over from day shift." Sara pointed out. "How about I make a run to Starbucks?" She offered.

"That would good." Grissom agreed.

"I won't be long."

"Sara."

"Yes?"

"If I didn't say it before, I'm happy for you and Nick."

"Thank you. I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier."

"Just don't let it interfere with your work and I have problem with it." Grissom stated.

"I'll go and get that coffee now."

"Thank you Sara."

"No problem."

"Coffee." Sara said when she tapped on Grissom's office door.

"Come in."

"Just how you like it." Sara handed him a cup.

"Thank you."

"Not a problem."

"They identified the woman. Her father came in and reported her missing an hour ago." Grissom stated.

"What's her name?" Sara inquired.

"Lisa Marie Preston. 25." Grissom replied. "Just transferred back here from Princeton where she was finishing up her PhD in History. The father is going over to the morgue to identify the body right now."

"At least she has a name now."

"Now we just have to put her killer behind bars."

"We have enough, but the DNA results will nail it." Sara said.

"Then we'll have our answer in a few hours."

TBC


	33. Chapter 33

"Mr Preston?" Sara said getting up when he came out from identifying his daughter's body.

"Yes."

"I'm very sorry for your loss." Sara told him.

"Thank you. And you are?"

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm Sara Sidle, I'm with the Crime lab, I'm investigating your daughter's case."

"Crime lab?" He questioned.

"We looked at the forensic evidence and try to figure out what happened." Sara explained.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Mr Preston asked.

"I can't tell you much right now as it is an on going case. But we're very close to figuring out what happened." Sara told him as they sat down.

"They said something about her being found at Lake Mead." Mr Preston said.

"Yes, a man walking his dog found her and called it in."

"They said she was smothered how can she be at Lake Mead? She didn't even like the water; she almost drowned when she was little."

"We think she was smothered somewhere else and then her body was dumped into the water." Sara explained.

"Do you know where or why someone would do this?" He asked.

"We're still working on that. But as of yet I can't tell you anymore." Sara said. "Why don't you tell me a little more about your daughter?"

"Don't you have to get back?" He inquired.

"My shift doesn't start for another few hours, but I came in to check on some test results that aren't quite ready yet. So I have some time." Sara said.

"Okay."

Sara talked to Mr Preston for about an hour when her cell phone rang.

"Excuse me a minute." Sara said. "Sidle." She answered as she stepped away.

"_Hey darlin' do you want to get some coffee before we start shift?" _Nick inquired.

"I'm actually a little busy. I'm talking to the father of our victim." Sara said.

"_Then they got a name."_

"But I'm still waiting on the DNA test results."

"_I guess I'll see you at the start of shift."_ Nick said.

"Sorry. I'll see you later."

"_Count on it."_

Sara hung up.

"Sorry about that." She sat back down. "Go on."

CSI CSI

"Sorry." Sara apologised when she walked in later. "Mia stopped me."

"It's okay." Grissom said. "What do the results say?"

"They found some DNA on the pregnancy test, which was our vic and that our suspect is the father. There was also her DNA on one of those pillow cases Warrick bought back."

"He smothered her and dumped her in a lake. That SOB." Warrick said.

"I spoke to her father, she'd called him and told him that she'd be by to see him last night. That she had some good news." Sara said.

"Does he know she was pregnant?" Greg asked.

"Not yet. There wasn't a lot I could tell him." Sara stated.

"Tell PD, then pack up everything for the DA and write your final reports." Grissom stated. "Catherine I understand you tied up your case too?"

"Turns out that one of the male leads was planning on leaving, he got a role on Broadway. Our vic was going to replace him." Catherine explained.

"So our suspect dosed his waterbottle with any drugs he could get his hands on an our vic was high for about two minutes while his temp sky rocketed and then everything shut down and he collapsed dead." Nick said.

"The suspect thought he'd get the lead this way." Catherine added.

"This town is screwed up." Greg stated. "A guy kills his girlfriend because she's pregnant and drives into Lake Mead to dump her body and guy kills a guy for the lead in a musical."

"Greg this is Vegas, you do this job long enough and I guarantee you'll a whole lot stranger." Catherine told him.

"I'd like to tell her father what happened." Sara said. "I think he deserves to know."

"Wait until they charge Dickenson and then you can tell him." Grissom told her. "But for now swing took the last of the new cases. So until something else comes in tie up the loose ends of your cases."

TBC

A/N: A little low on feedback recently.:( let me know what you think by hitting the review button.


	34. Chapter 34

"Door's open." Nick yelled a couple days later at the knock at the door. He was finishing stashing Sara's forensic journals he'd knocked off a shelf back in place.

The engagement party that their co-workers had been planning on throwing them had been postponed when a major case came in and all hands on deck was called. The team were stuck pulling triples, and then doubles after a few hours sleep.

The whole team had been given the night off days were covering for them to give them a break, and they all planned to meet up that evening for a little celebration.

"Hey Nick." Greg said as he came in.

"Greggo." Nick, Warrick and Greg were going go-karting to release some of the stress.

"Where's Sara?"

"This is Sara we're talking about." Nick pointed out.

"She's at the lab?"

"Yes." Nick wasn't going to point out that she'd gone into the see the department shrink.

"She didn't get the whole night off thing because we've been working our butts off the last few days."

"Not really." Nick shrugged. "Take a seat; I just have to feed the fish."

"Fish?" Greg questioned. "Since when do you have a fish?"

"My nieces had a pet shop deliver it and a bowl as an engagement present. According to my sister they wanted to get us a puppy but she talked them down to a fish since they didn't take too much care."

"Interesting idea for a gift. Does it have a name?"

"Locard." Nick replied.

"The exchange principle guy?"

"Yes. Take a seat."

Greg sat down and looked around. He noticed the box on the table.

"Hey Nick why do you have a box covered with dust on your table?"

"It's Sara's." Nick replied.

"Sara owns a box covered in dust?" Greg questioned.

"Yes."

"What's in it?" Greg asked curious.

"I don't know specifically."

"You didn't open it to find out?"

"No. It's Sara's box. She left it there because she's not ready to open it yet. She'll get around to it, until then it stays where it is."

"Aren't you the least bit curious?" Greg asked.

"Not really. She'll show me when she ready."

"Rather you than me."

There was another knock on the door. Nick opened.

"Hey bro." Warrick said when he came in.

"Hey." Nick said.

"Ready to go?"

"Almost." Nick replied.

"He has to feed the fish." Greg stated.

"Fish?"

"It's name is Locard." Greg added.

"Since when do you have a fish?" Warrick asked.

"Since it arrived this morning." Nick replied. "An engagement gift from my nieces."

"How does Sara feel about having a fish?"

"She's the one who named it." Nick shrugged. "And she said it was better than the puppy they wanted to get us."

"Where is Sara anyway? Does she want to come with us?" Warrick offered.

"She's at the lab." Greg said. "I already asked."

"You let her go to the lab?" Warrick questioned.

"I didn't let her do anything. She's an adult she can do what she wants."

"I was just saying I thought we were all banned until tomorrow night."

"She won't be there long; she just needed to take care of something."

"Want to wait for her?" Warrick offered.

"She knows where we're going." Nick replied dumping a pinch of food into the fish bowl. "I just have to grab my keys and my wallet from the table and I'm ready to go."

"What's with the box?" Warrick asked noticing.

"I'll explain on the way."

TBC


	35. Chapter 35

"That was fun." Nick said as he pulled off his helmet after they complete there second race.

"You're saying that because you beat Greg." Warrick chuckled.

"Hey it's not my fault."

"Oh it was pretty lousy driving. But I like the part where you crashed into the tires." A female voice said from behind them.

"Hey darlin'." Nick looped a hand around her waist and gave her kiss hello.

"Hey yourself cowboy."

"And I think I'm going to be sick." Greg said.

"Don't do it on the track." Sara recommended.

"So you decided to come join us?" Warrick said.

"Well I thought I'd see what was happening. All I can say is don't quite your night jobs."

"Good thing we weren't planning on it." Warrick said. "How are things at the lab?"

"Ecklie is on the warpath."

"About what?" Nick asked.

"I'm not entirely sure; I hid when I saw heard him ranting down the corridor."

"Not our problem right now." Nick stated.

"By the way that fish is loud."

"It's a goldfish how can it be loud?" Greg asked.

"It picks up pieces of gravel and spits them at the side of the bowl. It's annoying."

"Maybe it was trying to get your attention." Warrick suggested.

"I know it's a myth about goldfish having a three second memory but all the same I don't think it knew I was there." Sara said.

"Goldfish don't have three second memories?" Greg questioned.

"No. It's one of life's fallacies." Sara said.

"How would you measure it?" Warrick asked.

"I don't know." Sara shrugged. "Grissom would probably have a suggestion."

"I'll give you twenty bucks if you ask him." Warrick told Greg.

"Why me?"

"Because you can't drive a go-kart." Warrick slapped him on the back.

"Since that's taken care of." Nick said. "Do you guys want to get something to get something to eat? There is a Wendy's a couple blocks away."

"Do you even eat anything at Wendy's?" Warrick asked Sara.

"I'm sure I'll find something edible there."

"Don't miss eating meat?" Grey inquired. "I mean a good juicy steak."

"Not really. The only thing that challenges it is the smell of bacon cooking, but then I remember I don't eat meat because of that pig and I'm okay again."

"It almost means I not allowed to cook bacon when she's around." Nick added.

"They're going to love you in Texas." Warrick joked.

"Don't worry they haven't lynched anyone in Dallas for turning down the beef for quite a few years." Nick assured her.

"Always good to know."

"And one of my brother-in-laws is a vegetarian." Nick shrugged.

"I thought that was sacrilege for a Texan." Greg said.

"Jack's not from Texas. He's from Chicago originally. He ended up at NASA via MIT."

"You're brother-in-law works for NASA?" Warrick questioned.

"He has an Engineering degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has an IQ of 146 I think, he's a smart guy." Nick replied.

"You never mentioned that before." Warrick said.

"I have 1 brother, five sisters, one sister-in-law, four brother-in-laws, two ex-brother-in-laws, and 13 nieces and nephews. It's a lot of people."

"Just how old are your nieces and nephews?" Greg inquired.

"Lara-Jo just turned 18 last month and Luke is about 18 months old. The rest are in between."

"18 huh?"

"And that is why you're never going to meet her." Nick said.

"And would be a good time to eat."

"I'll wait by the car for you to get changed." Sara stuffed her hands in her pockets.

Nick whispered something into Sara ear which made her smile and swat him.

"I'll be by the car." Sara repeated.

"What did you say to her?" Greg inquired.

"That is something you'll never find out." Nick replied.

TBC


	36. Chapter 36

Sara was on her way back from the bathroom when her phone.

"Sidle…Oh hey… He's probably got it switched off; he went go-karting with Warrick and Greg…. If you wait just a minute you can talk to him, we're all having lunch now…. Okay…" Sara said as she reached the table and held out the phone to Nick. "Your Mom, your cell is off."

"Thanks." Nick took the phone from her. "Hey Mom…. Yes they did…. Mom, I was six…. No it is not going to be a replay of Red Fish, Blue Fish…. Mom, I grew up a long time ago…. I'm sure Sara will…." Nick held out the phone to Sara. "She wants to talk to you."

"Hello?... What was that about Red Fish, Blue Fish?... That's so sweet…" Sara couldn't help but laugh. "I'll make sure of that…. Bye Mrs Stokes." Sara hung up. "You really did that?"

"Unfortunately."

"It's very sweet." Sara was still laughing.

"Does someone wish to share with the rest of the group?" Warrick asked.

"No." Nick stated.

"When Nick was six he wanted to go fishing with his brother, but he told him that there weren't enough fish in the pond."

"Sara I think that's enough."

"But it gets better." Sara said. "His sister had two goldfish, Red Fish and Blue Fish, so Nick carried the bowl out to the pond and tipped the fish in."

"You put your sister's goldfish into the pond?" Greg questioned.

"And then went and fed them goldfish food everyday for a year."

"That was the only reason my Mom called wasn't to tell you that story?" Nick realised.

"Basically." Sara smiled. "Catherine will love that story."

"Why does Catherine have to find out?" Nick inquired.

"Because it's a sweet story." Sara said.

"And there is plenty of mileage in it." Warrick added.

"That too." Sara smirked. "I need some more ice-tea I'll be right back."

"She's definitely in a good mood." Greg stated.

"And that's a bad thing?" Nick questioned.

"No, just a little strange."

"She's actually usually in a good mood most of the time." Nick said. "Apart from when she just wakes up."

"Why does she look that bad in the morning?" Greg asked.

"Greg you've forgotten our sleep patterns. We work most of the morning." Nick reminded him.

"Good point."

"No she just needs coffee first thing in the morning."

"Who doesn't?" Warrick asked.

They all silenced as Sara returned.

"Why do I get the feeling you were talking about me?" Sara asked when she sat back down.

"Nothing but nice things darlin'. Greg was just saying you're in a good mood."

"What's not to be in a good mood about? There was the hilarity of Greg crashing the go-kart, the prospect of him asking Grissom about fish memory and then your whole red fish, blue fish thing." Sara stole one of Nick's French fries and popped it in her mouth.

They continue to eat and make general conversation when Sara's cell phone rang again.

"It's Catherine." She said looking at the name that had flashed up. "Hello Catherine."

"_Hey Sara. Are you busy?"_

"Not really."

"_I was going through my closet and I can't find anything to wear tonight, and since Lindsey is going to a friend's house after I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping." _

"Actually that sounds great." Sara said. "Let me just ditch the guys, and I'll meet wherever." Catherine named a place. "I'll be there in twenty minutes, and remind me to tell you Nick's red fish, blue fish story."

"_Sounds intriguing. I'll see you there."_

"Okay. Bye."

They hung up.

"You're going to ditch us?" Warrick questioned.

"Catherine made me a better offer." Sara replied.

"Oh really!" Greg raised his eyebrows.

"We're going shopping for something to wear tonight." Sara said.

"Doesn't Catherine have enough clothes already?" Warrick asked.

"Apparently not, and I could probably do with something to wear anyway, most of my clothes are more practical for work and that doesn't count the ones I've had to burn because they smell of decomps won't wash out."

"Have fun." Nick told her.

"I'll see you later." Sara gave him a quick kiss. "And don't let Greg drive."

TBC


	37. Chapter 37

"Hey Catherine." Sara when she located her.

"Sara, sorry about this being last minute."

"I didn't have anything much planned anyway."

"You said something about ditching the guys on the phone."

"Nick, Warrick and Greg went go-carting earlier. I went and watched after I'd run by the lab, where Cecile is in a bad mood."

"When isn't he?"

"So we were having lunch. It wasn't too hard to ditch them. Just for future reference Greg can't drive a go-kart; he crashed it into the tire barrier."

"And what was that about Red Fish, Blue Fish?" Catherine inquired. Sara filled her in. "I think I see a book shop and a Dr Seuss book in our future."

"Warrick bet Greg twenty bucks that he wouldn't ask Grissom how you measure a goldfish's memory."

"Now that would be an interesting conversation."

"And we get a front row seat too it."

"Shall we get started?" Catherine asked.

"Pick a store."

CSI CSI

"So have you thought about setting a date?" Catherine inquired as they sat drinking coffee taking a break from their shopping spree.

"Not yet. It's been a little busy at work. Then it comes with the problem of where to have the wedding. If we have it in Vegas, all Nick's family live in Texas. They'd have to charter a whole plane to get them out here. Then if we got married in Texas, it would be a problem for you guys to come since you all have to work."

"What about your family?" Catherine asked.

"They won't be coming." Sara replied. "I lost contact with my brother years ago and my Mom couldn't make it."

"If you haven't set a date then how can you know she can't make it?"

"Because she'll be unavoidably detained for at least the next six years." Sara replied.

"Your Mom is in jail?" Sara nodded. "What did she do?"

"The department shrink thinks it would be good to get this out in the open." Sara sighed. "If I tell you can we keep it just between us?"

"Sure."

"My father was abusive, I guess when I was kid I didn't know the difference, one day it just got too much and she stabbed him to death. Nineteen years ago."

"Oh god Sara."

"It's okay." Sara said. "I need to start dealing with it. I forgot about the anniversary which is I was in a weird mood the other day."

"That would have been hard."

"Foster care is lousy." Sara stirred her coffee. "But I got through it."

"Who else knows?"

"Nick, Warrick, the shrink." Sara replied.

"That's it?"

"It's not exactly a good conversation starter. I'd rather people didn't know."

"It explains a few things."

"That's what Warrick said." Sara recalled.

"If you ever want to talk…" She trailed off.

"Thanks. Let's get back to shopping."

"I know exactly the place." Catherine said.

CSI CSI

Sara let herself in, and found Nick, Greg and Warrick watching a replay of a game on TV.

"Hey have a good time?" Nick asked.

"It was fun."

"Do I detect a distinctive pink bag there?" Greg zeroed in on one of Sara's shopping bag.

"You might."

"And what have you been buying at Victoria's Secret?" Greg inquired.

"Shoes." Sara replied. The guys' faces dropped slightly.

"You bought shoes at Victoria's Secret? Do they even sell shoes?"

"Clothes too." Sara replied. "You just have to skip the lingerie part of the catalogue."

"You learn something new everyday." Warrick said.

"I'm just going to dump these on the bed." Sara said.

TBC


	38. Chapter 38

"Excuse me a minute." Nick said he got up off the couch and followed her into the bedroom.

"Hey." Sara said as she dropped the bags as bed.

"Hey." Nick echoed as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her knocking her onto the bed.

"That's some welcome home cowboy."

"Have a good time shopping with Catherine?" He asked and kissed her neck. Sara giggled.

"It was good. Warrick and Greg are in the other room." She reminded him.

"I know."

"So this isn't going to happen."

"I know that too."

"Good." She kissed him.

"So did you buy anything nice?"

"I guess you'll find out later." Sara replied.

"Anything other than shoes at Victoria's Secret?" Nick wondered out loud.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

"You know you're not being very cooperative here." Nick pointed out. "But I'm sure I can find a way to make you talk."

"Do you want us to leave?" Warrick yelled from the couch.

"He'll be right out." Sara yelled back.

"They could have left."

"Go play nice with your friends." Sara told him. "I want to take a long bath anyway."

"Okay my conviction to go back out there just dropped."

"Nick, go otherwise I'll call your Mom and get some more stories to spread around the department."

"Low blow." He kissed her. "Have a nice bath."

"Enjoy the rest of the game."

"So are you sure you don't want us to leave man?" Warrick asked noticing Nick's hair was ruffled.

"No, she wouldn't show me what she bought anyway." Nick sat back down.

"I bet you tried real hard to find out." Greg said.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Greg." Sara said when she walked out of the bedroom a few minutes later. "Catherine sent you this." Sara tossed a plastic bag at him.

"Okay. Thanks." Greg opened the bag. "The Victoria's Secret catalogue."

"She thought you could find some use for it and if you start from the back and flip forward you could probably find out what else they sell." Sara winked at them. "I'm going to take a bath."

"Oh Greg, now why would Catherine thing you need a Victoria's Secret catalogue?" Warrick joked.

"They really do sell shoes." Greg said finding a page with shoes on it.

"Ouch." Nick said looking at the TV. "That had to hurt."

"That's why they have the padding." Warrick said.

"Trust me padding doesn't always help."

"Is she singing?" Greg asked once the game was over.

"She doesn't know she's doing it half the time." Nick said. "It's kind of endearing."

"Sounds country." Warrick said.

"I may have corrupted her." Nick shrugged. "Although she's not really a big fan."

"Was it the big hint that she didn't like the country station you got her radio stuck on?" Warrick asked.

"Probably."

"We should probably get going." Warrick said looking at his watch.

"And I guess we'll see you a few hours." Greg added.

"Bye Sara." Warrick called.

"Bye guys." She yelled back.

"Well Nick man, it's been fun. I'll see you later." Warrick said.

"Yeah man." Nick replied. "I'll see you later."

Warrick opened the door to let themselves out.

"Hey Greg." Nick said.

"Yes?"

"You forgot something." Nick tossed him the catalogue.

TBC


	39. Chapter 39

It hadn't taken Nick long to get ready after his shower, he'd changed into a clean shirt and pants, put on some dress shoes and he was done.

He sat on the couch waiting for Sara who was considerably taking longer.

"Are you almost ready Sara?" Nick called.

"Almost."

"We're going to be late for our own party." Nick reminded her.

"I'm sure they won't mind if we turn up fashionable late." Sara replied.

Nick knew that Sara could normally get ready and out of the house in less than thirty minutes. Considerably less if involved having to go into work.

"There's fashionably late because you're still in bed and there's fashionable late."

"Good thing I'm ready then." Sara stepped out of the bedroom wearing a long fitted black coat that stopped just above her knees, hiding whatever she had on underneath.

"I don't get to see what you're wearing?" Nick asked.

"That would involve taking off my coat and then putting it back on again and you don't want to be late."

"Using my own words against me."

"What a shame." Sara smiled.

"Any chance its red?" Nick asked noticing her red ankle wrap stilettos.

"Possibly. Let's go."

"You know I've never seen you in a red dress." Nick remarked.

"You've seen me in a lot less, so I wouldn't worry." Sara grabbed her keys and stuffed them into her purse. "Let's go."

"Spoil sport."

CSI CSI

"What's with Sara wearing that coat?" Greg asked Warrick.

"Maybe she was cold?" Warrick suggested.

"But great shoes."

"Hey Catherine you look great." Nick told her.

"That's what a good shopping spree will do for you." Catherine smiled. "Let me guess he hasn't seen the dress yet."

"He was in a hurry and didn't want to be late."

"This should be fun to watch. But first Nicky this is for you." Catherine handed him a gift bag.

"Thanks." Nick took the bag and opened. "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."

"Very appropriate." Warrick said. "So Sara let's see this dress."

Sara undid the buttons of her coat.

"Woowh!" Greg said.

"Ouch girl, you look hot." Warrick added.

"Shut your mouth." Catherine elbowed Nick in the ribs.

"You should wear dresses like that to the lab." Greg remarked.

"One, it's against the department dress code, two it would get ruined and three, you can't crawl around the floor looking for evidence in a skirt." Sara pointed out. "Catherine you want to get a drink?"

"I'm thinking something with umbrellas."

"Sounds good."

"That is some dress man." Warrick slapped Nick on the back.

"Is he going to say something?" Greg inquired.

"Maybe we should start with this." Warrick picked up the book. "Can you say one fish two…?"

"Grow up." Nick finally said.

"Go and tell her she looks beautiful." Warrick suggested.

"Sorry we're late, traffic's backed up." Brass apologised as he and Grissom entered about ten minutes late.

"Don't worry Archie and Mia already called their going to be late." Warrick said.

"Ladies, you look lovely this evening." Brass commented.

"I must agree." Grissom added.

"Thank you." Sara said.

"I told you shopping with me was worth it." Catherine nudged Sara.

"It was fun. And Greg learnt something today."

"And what was that?" Grissom inquired.

"That there's more than lingerie in a Victoria's Secret catalogue."

TBC


	40. Chapter 40

"Sara, can I ask you a question?" Greg inquired.

"Sure." Sara agreed tentatively.

"What happened to your theory about heels and how they do something to the back and the pelvis?" Greg recalled their conversation. "Not that I don't like the shoes."

"It's still valid."

"I doubt one night is going to kill her." Warrick stated.

"It could." Sara pointed out.

"How do you figure that?" Warrick inquired.

"Wearing heels is about balance, last year almost fifteen thousand people died of fall related injuries. Forgetting that the majority of those were senior citizens and people tripping over something, there is a decent probability that more than one of those people died from loosing their balance in high heels, an even greater probability if they were drunk."

"Sobering thought."

"And why this has absolutely no alcohol in it." Sara said about her drink.

"An interesting theory." Grissom said. "Accurate though."

"Thank you." Sara smiled. "By the way Greg had something he wanted to ask you."

"What is that Greg?"

"How do you measure a goldfish's memory?" Greg reluctantly asked shooting Sara a glare.

"That's a very interesting question." Grissom said. "The Latin name for a goldfish is Carassius Auratus, and is the only animal that can see both infra-red and ultra-violet light."

"Excuse me." Sara said and ducked out.

"What's going on over there?" Mia asked when Sara reached her.

"Warrick bet Greg twenty bucks that he wouldn't ask Grissom how to measure a goldfish's memory."

"Interesting topic of discussion." Mia commented.

"It will keep Greg busy for a while." Sara sipped her drink. "Do you know what Nick and Archie are talking about?"

"Some video game I believe. So how do you like being engaged?"

"I like it; it has a sense of permanency."

"And a great ring." Mia remarked.

"Do you know where Nick found it?" Sara asked.

"No."

"It was one of the things not stolen from a jewellery store robbery Nick was assigned to a few weeks ago."

"That's kind of romantic." Mia said. "Although it does make you wonder why they didn't steal that particular ring."

"You could ask him. He's in jail; you ran the DNA tests after he cut himself on the glass and got a match in CODIS."

"Right." Mia recalled the case.

"Mia, Sara." Catherine said coming over.

"Hey Catherine, having a good time?" Sara inquired.

"Great. But I was thinking since it's the only night we're all going to have off for a while, I think we should enjoy it."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Since we're out numbered 2 to 1 I presume we can find at least three of them willing to dance."

"Grissom and Greg are having a discussion about fish." Sara pointed out.

"Then there were four." Mia said.

"Jim." Catherine said.

"Yes Catherine?"

"Do you want to dance?"

"Sure." He agreed.

"I think I'll go and rescue Warrick." Sara said.

"What about Nick?" Mia asked.

"The two-step he can do, but sometimes he treads on your toes."

"I guess that leaves Archie."

"Archie." Mia said when she walked over to where he and Nick were sitting.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to dance?"

"Um sure." Archie agreed.

Nick looked around for Sara.

"She's dancing with Warrick; she says you have a tendency to tread on toes."

"Isn't that nice."

"Grissom and Greg are having a conversation about fish is your interested." Mia offered helpfully.

TBC


	41. Chapter 41

"So Warrick since when can you waltz?" Sara asked.

"Since my grandmother thought it would be a good idea. Spin."

Sara laughed as Warrick whirled her around.

"So where did you learn to waltz?" Warrick asked.

"My last foster mother was a ballroom dance teacher; she thought I should learn for prom. Although I turned 18 two days before and got kicked out and didn't go."

"Got to love the system."

"I got into the summer school program at Harvard so it wasn't too bad. Scholarships are good things."

"So do you think Nick is getting jealous yet?" Warrick asked glancing to where Nick was stood watching them.

"I doubt it."

"Let's see if we can change that."

"I think we should swap dance partners." Catherine told Sara once the song was over.

"He's pretty good." Sara told Catherine.

"I'm not bad." Brass pointed out and held out a hand to her.

"Let's see."

"You look happy." Brass told Sara as they danced.

"I am happy."

"I still stand by my statement if he ever does anything to make you unhappy let me."

"You know Ellie is lucky to have you even if she doesn't realise it." Sara told him.

"I think that is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me."

"You're a good guy Jim; don't let anyone tell you any different."

"Hey having a good time?" Nick asked when Sara came and sat down next to him.

"Yes. Did you know Warrick could waltz?"

"No, but then again I didn't know you could either."

"Three months of ballroom classes. Although I was never really any good at the Latin dances."

"So you can tango?"

"I can tango and you can two step."

"I can."

"Although there doesn't seem to be the right music for it." Sara commented.

"No there doesn't." Nick agreed.

"That's a shame." Sara said as the previous song finished. The next one started with a definite country style.

"How did you manage that?"

"Have you seen what I'm wearing?" Sara asked then paused. "So are you going to teach me how to two step?"

"I think I can manage that darlin'." He stood up and held out his hand to her.

"So Warrick do you two-step?" Catherine inquired.

"No. I can waltz, fox-trot and when pushed Salsa but not two step. Although I'll give you twenty bucks if you can get Grissom to dance."

"Feeling guilty about foisting Greg on him?" Catherine inquired.

"Something like that."

"I can always use twenty bucks. Excuse me." Catherine walked over to where Greg and Grissom were still talking about fish much to Greg's dismay. "Sorry to interrupt gentlemen."

"It's not a problem." Greg said shooting her a pleading look.

"Gil, I think it's time you have a little fun."

"Fun?" Grissom questioned.

"We're going to two-step."

"I don't dance." Grissom stated.

"Well it's always a good time to try something new." Catherine grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the dance floor.

"Thank you." Greg mouthed to her.

"You look like you could do with this." Mia walked over and handed him a beer.

"Thank you. That wasn't worth twenty bucks."

"You know more about goldfish than you ever needed too I presume."

"Yes."

TBC


	42. Chapter 42

"Hey Nick take a look." Sara whispered to Nick.

"Who knew Grissom could badly attempt dancing."

"I'd say Catherine had something to do with that." Sara suggested with a smile.

"Should we feel sorry for her?" Nick inquired.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Is there any spinning involved in this dance?"

"I think that can be arranged." Nick spun her causing Sara to giggle.

"You know you're not bad at this." Sara commented.

"Why shucks ma'am, you say the nicest things." Nick drawled.

"I knew your accent was a lot stronger when you tried."

"You should hear it in Texas." He winked at her.

"Just out of curiosity do you have a cowboy hat?"

"At my parents place." Nick replied. "You need something to keep the sun out of your eyes, and what respectable cowboy doesn't have a Stetson and a horse."

"Now that's some to imagine."

"You'd love Texas."

"I grew up in California."

"You'd still love it." Nick told her.

CSI CSI

"If I could have your attention." Brass said tapping his glass as he stood. "I thought someone should say a few words, and since not all of us have the night off."

"Is it just me or does he sound jealous?" Catherine whispered to Warrick.

"It's not you." Warrick confirmed.

"That may as well be me." Brass stated. "Nick, Sara, I'm sure we all want to wish the best of luck and congratulations."

"And to complain you didn't tell us earlier." Warrick remarked.

"And the fact that you made us guess." Greg added.

"I think they were trying to say we were a little surprise that you were suddenly engaged when we didn't know you were dating." Brass continued. "But we're all very happy for you. So if everyone would raise a glass. To Nick and Sara."

"Nick and Sara." Everyone echoed.

"Nick." Grissom cornered him later.

"Hey Gris."

"That information you asked for." Grissom handed him an envelope. "The end of the month would be best."

"Thanks Gris."

"Warrick." Catherine stated as grabbed his wallet from his pocket.

"Hey Brass want to arrest her for pick pocketing?"

"Not enough evidence, you know how questionable eye witness testimony is."

Catherine pulled $40 out of the wallet and handed it back to him. She stuffed $20 into her bra and then walked over and hand the other to Greg.

"Thanks Catherine." Greg took the money.

"Just making sure he pays up."

"What was all that about?" Brass inquired.

"I bet Greg $20 that he wouldn't ask Grissom how to measure the length of a goldfish's memory and Catherine $20 that she couldn't get Grissom to dance."

"I see."

"Nick's nieces sent him and Sara a goldfish as an engagement present and we having a discussion earlier." Warrick explained.

TBC

A/N: I know it's short but I have a busy day and can't write more today.


	43. Chapter 43

"So did you have fun tonight?" Nick asked when they arrived home.

"It was good. We have great friends."

"You look great." Nick pulled her to him.

"You don't look bad yourself." Sara splayed one hand on his chest and wrapped the other around his neck and kissed him.

Nick slipped his hands around her waist under her coat.

"What are you doing two weeks from Friday?" Nick inquired.

"I would say working, but since you're asking I presume you have something else in mind."

"How would you feel about coming to Texas for a long weekend to meet my parents, and probably most of my other relatives?"

"You want to take me to Texas?"

"I told you you'd love it and my family will love you."

"Nick can we even get time off work?" Sara asked.

"I talked to Grissom, you have enough leave stored up that could go on a world cruise and still have some time left over."

"That's a slight exaggeration." Sara corrected. "It's only 6 weeks."

"Grissom says we can have the time off. We catch a flight to Dallas after work and come back in time for our shift."

"You really want me to meet your family?"

"You're already part of the family. But it would be nice for you to meet them."

"Can I think about it?" Sara asked.

"Sure. I have the paperwork, you just need to sign it and Grissom needs to know by tomorrow."

"Okay." Sara agreed. She gave him a kiss. "Now I'm going to need someone to help me get out of this dress. Do you think Greg is available?"

"If you asked him Greg would probably drop everything he was doing and speed over here. But since I'm already here, why don't you let me help you."

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Sara said with a grin.

Sara got up a few hours later and picked up the trail of clothes that they had left on the floor. She sat on the couch and stared at the book for a few minutes before picking it up and blowing the dust off.

She slowly took the lid off.

"Sara?" Nick said when he got up.

"Hey." Sara looked up at him.

"You opened it."

"It was time."

"Are you okay?" Nick inquired.

"I'm fine." She sighed.

"Want some company?" Nick offered.

"That would be good." Sara replied. "You should know about my family before I meet yours."

"You'll come to Dallas?"

"I'll come to Dallas." Sara confirmed. "Although we're going to have to find someone to feed the fish."

"I think you can get slow release pellets for when you go on vacation. If not I'm sure Warrick can drop by and feed it."

"Okay." Sara handed him a picture.

"Is this you?" He asked.

"I was five."

"You were a cute kid. And that's your brother?"

"River."

"Your brother is called River?" Nick questioned.

"My parents were Hippies. You don't think my real name was Sara did you? I changed it before I got to Harvard."

"What was it before?" Nick asked.

"I'm not sure I should share that information."

"I'm going to find out eventually." Nick told her.

"Stardust."

"Your parents named you Stardust?"

"Unfortunately."

"How do you get from Stardust to Sara?"

"My grandmother who died when I was five always called me Sara; she didn't think anyone should be called Stardust. Her name was Sarah with an H."

"Stardust." Nick repeated.

"If you tell anyone I'll kill you and I know how to hide a body."

"Why don't you show me what else was in the box?"

TBC


	44. Chapter 44

"So are you looking forward to it?" Catherine asked as she and Sara finished up their case.

"Does terrified cover it?" Sara inquired.

"If they are anything like Nick, they'll be great."

"It's just it's rather of a lot of people to meet at once. I basically have no family any more; most of my friends are people at the lab."

"Getting married is one way to get a lot of family very quickly." Catherine told her. "Enjoy the time off you've earned it."

"I suppose it will be nice to not have to figure out how and why someone died for a few days."

"That's the spirit." She paused. "If you really can't handle it, there has to be plenty of flights back to Vegas from Dallas."

"Don't give me an out." Sara said.

"How often do you get to Texas? Men in tight jeans and cowboy hats calling you ma'am can't be too bad."

"There's a bar on the Strip like that. You can ride a mechanical bull."

"Nick take you there?" Catherine inquired.

"No it was on a case last year when you were out sick with the flu."

"Right. Well just finish writing that up, hand it in to Grissom and then you're free to go on your meet the family visit."

"Catherine."

"Have fun."

CSI CSI

"Sara, come in." Grissom said looking up from his desk when she tapped on the door.

"Am I interrupting?" Sara inquired.

"No, just catching up on some paperwork while I wait on some results." Grissom leant back in his chair. "How can I help you?"

"I'm just turning in my report." She handed it to him.

"How did the case turn out?"

"Misunderstanding. The wife locked herself out, with the baby inside. Then the baby got a fever so she took him to the hospital, didn't think about the window. Husband comes home find the window broken, his wife and daughter missing and assumes someone broke in and took them."

"She didn't try to call him?"

"Dead cell phone battery." Sara replied.

"Okay.

"PD's happy to close the case."

"Good, good." Grissom glanced at his watch. "There is only half an hour left of shift why don't you take off early. I'm sure you have some last minute things to do for your trip."

"I'm sure there is a case that someone needs some help with."

"No I think we have everything under control."

"Are you sure now is a good time for me to be going away?" Sara asked.

"I think we can handle things for a few days without you. The lab won't fall to pieces if you're not here Sara. Go enjoy your trip."

"Are you certain?"

"Go before I have you escorted out. You could use the break. William James once said, 'Every man who possibly can should force himself to a holiday of a full month in a year, whether he feels like taking it or not.'"

"Milton Berle said 'Laughter is an instant vacation.'" Sara countered.

"Go and enjoy a longer one. I'll see you next week."

CSI CSI

"So how hard did you try to convince Grissom that the lab couldn't do without you?" Nick asked as he watched Sara double check she had all her travel documents in order.

"Why would you think that I tried to convince Grissom the lab needed me?" Sara inquired.

"Because I know you?"

"He started quoting at me." Sara sighed.

"Look Sara if you really don't want to go you don't have to."

"No, I said I'd go and I'll go."

"And you can't come with an excuse to not to."

"Nick I do want to meet your family, it's just there is a lot of them."

"Don't worry you won't have to meet them all in one go. I know there are a lot of them I'm used to them. If it helps I'll make them wear nametags."

"Name tags would be good." Sara smiled.

"If it gets too much I'll show you around." Nick offered.

"Thanks Nick."

TBC


	45. Chapter 45

"Welcome to Texas." Nick told Sara as they grabbed their luggage.

"It's a very nice airport." Sara joked.

"Very funny. Come on we'll go and see about renting a car."

"Nicholas." A woman yelled.

"I think she's calling you." Sara told him.

Nick turned around and broke into a smile.

"Maggie." Nick said as he hugged the woman. "What are you doing here?"

"Mom wanted to come and pick you up but she's sitting second chair on a case and there was a problem so she asked me to come and pick you up. Dad obviously won't be back until later tonight."

"The Dallas judicial system at work." He smiled.

Sara cleared her throat.

"Sorry." Nick apologised. "Sara my sister Megan. Maggie this is Sara."

"It's nice to meet you." Megan said.

"You too." She paused. "Just out of curiosity why does he call you Maggie if your name is Megan?"

"Emily and Heather were two when I was born and they couldn't say Megan, only Magan, it just evolved to Maggie and stuck." Maggie explained.

"They were both 2?"

"Emily and Heather are non-identical twins." Maggie told her. "Twins run in the family. Mom is a twin and Heather has identical twin six year old boys. I guess Nick didn't tell you that."

"No."

"Or that apart from Andy and Carrie there roughly a two year gap between each of the rest of us and the next."

"No."

"Did he mention the nieces and nephews?" Maggie inquired.

"Yes, complete with pictures."

"You'll probably confuse them they all look alike especially the younger ones. We should probably get nametags for Sunday." Maggie suggested.

"What's happening on Sunday?" Nick inquired.

"Mom and Dad are planning a big cook out. All the relatives and friends are coming it's the first time we've all be in together in a couple years. They're really looking forward to it."

"Now's the time to run screaming." Nick whispered into Sara's ear.

"Just stay near me." Sara told him.

"So Mags where are Lily and Matt?" Nick inquired.

"Gib's having a little bonding time with the kids; otherwise know as them running around the house screaming and him tearing his hair out. But hopefully they will have worn themselves out by the time I get home." Maggie replied. "Lily and Matthew are my two kids. Lily is 5 and Matt is 3. My husband is Gibson, he's a cop. I'll talk to Mom about those name tags."

"Welcome to Texas." Nick said as they stepped outside the airport taking a big deep breath.

"It's no Sin City but we like it." Maggie stated.

CSI CSI

Sara looked out the window and drove to the ranch on which the Stokes family house was located.

"Wow this place is huge." Sara declared when they got out the car.

"You need somewhere to fit seven kids." Maggie said.

"Dad had three bathrooms added, so we could get out of the house at a reasonable time of the morning." Nick added.

"He still spent quite a lot of time in there." Maggie said.

"It was a good place to hide you girls." Nick stated.

"And to spend two hours making sure his hair was right. I should get home; it was nice to have met you Sara."

"You too."

"Nick tell Mom I'll call her tomorrow." Maggie said.

"I'll will. Night Mags."

"Good night."

"So this is where you grew up?" Sara said.

"Yes. There's the barn, and the stables. Mom and Dad own several thousand acres, all though rent most of it out. Carrie and Leland have a house that way, Becky and Clint live over there. Andy and Erin live have a place over that way. My grandparents have a small place behind the main house. Maggie and Gibson and Heather live in town and Emily and Jack live just outside Houston."

"Wow."

"Don't worry you get used to it." Nick squeezed her hand.

"And your Dad is on the Texas Supreme court."

"Which is based in Austin."

"Must be some commute."

"He usually catches an early flight to Austin on Monday mornings, stays over at a small apartment he has there, and catches a flight back here on Friday nights." Nick explained.

"Your parents didn't think about moving to Austin?" Sara asked.

"They did for a couple of days after Dad got appointed, but most of the family is here. Mom has been a public defender in Dallas for her whole career; this works out well for them. It's only about an hour's flight or about a 3 hour drive. It works for them."

TBC


	46. Chapter 46

"And that's basically the house." Nick said when they got back to the kitchen.

"It's great; you don't see houses like this in Vegas."

"Thank you we like it." A female voice said from behind her.

"Mom." Nick smiled and went and gave her a hug.

"I swear you get taller every time I see you."

"Not really. It's good to see you Mom."

"You should come home more often." Jillian Stokes told her son.

"I'll try Mom but we get busy." Nick paused. "Mom, I'd like you to meet my fiancée Sara Sidle. Sara, my Mom Jillian Stokes."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs Stokes."

"I told you to call me Jillian on the phone. It's nice to finally meet you in person Sara." Jillian hugged her.

"You too."

Nick just smiled.

"Are you kids hungry?" Jillian asked.

"Mom you've had a long day you don't need to make dinner."

"I don't think putting a vegetable tortilla lasagne from the freezer into the oven is going to kill me Nicholas."

"I'll do it. Sit down."

"Fine." She pulled out one of the chairs and sat down at the kitchen table. "Didn't you both work this morning? Aren't you tired?"

"We got a couple of hours sleep in before we went to the airport." Sara said sitting down. "We've worked through longer without sleep."

"You should try studying and taking the bar exam when your seven months pregnant." Jillian said. "That's exhausting."

"I'll bet."

"Mom passed first time and got a higher score than Dad." Nick told Sara proudly.

"Just don't mention that to Bill he hasn't quite gotten over that." Jillian told Sara.

"I think having seven kids and being a public defender is pretty impressive."

"After having twins two more weren't much hassle."

"Thanks Mom." Nick said sarcastically.

"You and Maggie were always pretty independent and your own people. Actually all of you kids were. You could all ride a horse before you could walk."

"Mom refused to let people call Emily and Heather the twins." Nick explained.

"They have names and they should be used." Jillian stated.

"Good point." Sara had to agree.

"Mom, Maggie mentioned a cook out on Sunday." Nick said.

"Emily, Jack and the kids are coming to tomorrow. Since it's going to be the first time you've all been here since Luke's baptism. I thought it would be nice to have everyone over."

"Maggie suggested we get name tags to help Sara out."

"So did you." Sara reminded him.

"We can probably organise that. Put sticky dots on them to tell you which kids attach to which parents. But for starters remember Lara-Jo is the oldest and Luke is the youngest and Justin and Robbie are the identical twins." Jillian advised. "Although she might have trouble telling Clint and Leland apart. They're brothers but they look like identical twins."

"I think I'm going to lots of diagrams." Sara told Nick.

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Nick winked at her. "When's Dad get back from Austin?"

"He had to take a later flight back tonight so he should be here by 9.30." Jillian replied.

"Big case?"

"Final appeal in a death penalty case." Jillian replied.

"Any idea what the verdict was?" Nick asked.

"Anthony Charles raped and murdered six women; they had more than enough evidence to prove that it was him twice over. They didn't allow the appeal, the Governor won't grant clemency. He's going to die at 12.01 Monday morning."

"I guess the news is going to be full of stories about why he should have been given life imprisonment rather than the death penalty."

"That's what the sentencing recommendation by a jury of his peers was." Jillian pointed out. "I know the prosecutor from the original case. It's only because it's the death penalty that they dug up enough to let the appeals get this far. Sara do you have an opinion on the death penalty?"

"It depends on the circumstances." Sara replied. In her mother's case the prosecutor hadn't pushed for the death penalty due to the extenuating circumstances of her father's violent nature. She had received a 25 to life sentence instead. "But he seems to have warranted it and if they can prove conclusively that it was him, they should go ahead."

"Well that's enough of depressing subjects." Nick said. "What else have I missed around here?"

TBC


	47. Chapter 47

"Excuse me." Jillian said during dinner when the phone rang. "Jillian Stokes… Thanks Brett for letting me know… Okay bye."

"Everything okay?" Nick inquired.

"That was Brett Owens your father's clerk. His plane has a technical problem and is going to be delayed for about an hour."

"Why didn't Dad call?" Nick asked.

"He's on the plane, they're just unboarding now. Brett always makes sure he takes off before he goes home. Just like he picks him up at the airport when he lands. Besides your father will call."

"Is Dad home late a lot?" Nick inquired.

"It depends on his docket."

CSI

Sara yawned.

"Sorry. I guess I'm more tired than I thought." She apologised.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Jillian suggested. "You can meet Bill in the morning; I'll wait up for him."

"Are you sure Mom?" Nick asked.

"All the rooms are made up so take your pick. Although some of them are the kid's rooms but Nick knows which are which."

"Thanks Mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight Jillian."

"Goodnight Sara."

"So what do you think?" Nick asked once they were in bed.

"I like your Mom and Maggie." Sara replied.

"And Texas?"

"Well I haven't seen enough of it to draw any conclusions." Sara replied.

"We'll rectify that in the morning." Nick kissed her forehead before they settled down.

"It's so quiet here." Sara said after a few minutes.

"You get used to it." Nick told her. "It's when you get back to the city it's those sounds really get to you."

"I'm just used to living in the city."

"Wait until five thirty, six am."

"What happens then?" Sara inquired.

"Cockerel. Sammy is very loud."

"Sammy?"

"Zoë had a thing for Yosemite Sam when she was little. She was about four when we got Sammy; it was her turn to name something."

"And Zoë is?" Sara prompted.

"Carrie and Leland's daughter, she's twelve now."

"Your family is very interesting." Sara said.

"Oh we could hold a whole trial on our own."

"How exactly?" Sara asked.

"Dad's a judge, Mom is a public defender, Andy is a criminal defence lawyer, and Carrie is a prosecutor for the DA's office. Carrie's husband Leland is a court bailiff. That's the legal side of it. Then for law enforcement we have Maggie's husband Gibson is a cop, Maggie works part time in dispatch, Heather's ex-husband Bobby, which is on again off again is with the FBI. Clint is a PI. Rebecca is a Forensic psychologist; Erin is Dallas's version of Doc Robbins."

"Are you missing some people in there?"

"Heather is a High School guidance counsellor. Jack is with NASA and Emily writes crime novels."

"And you're a CSI. If you're ever in trouble in Dallas you basically call the Stokes family." Sam smiled.

"Pretty much."

"How did your parents put seven kids through college?"

"Most of us got at least partial scholarships. It's also why most of my sisters waited until they were in their late twenties before they started having kids."

"Do you want kids?" Sara asked.

"Kids would be nice eventually. What about you?"

"I guess." Sara yawned.

"Go to sleep we have plenty of time for this." Nick told her.

"Okay goodnight."

"Goodnight."

TBC


	48. Chapter 48

Sara sat bolt upright at the sound of the cockerel crowing.

Nick chuckled by her side.

"It's not funny." Sara playfully slapped his arm.

"It really is."

"Why do I like you again?"

"Because I'm charming." Nick smiled.

"No." Sara shook her head. "That's definitely not it."

"Hey." Nick started to tickle her.

Sara collapsed back against the pillows giggling until Nick kissed her.

"Okay maybe you're slightly charming."

"Thank you."

"But this isn't happening here." Sara said.

"How do you feel about haylofts?" Nick inquired.

"Well I don't have hay fever."

"I'll show you where it is later." He kissed her neck.

"Nicholas." His mother tapped on the door. "Are you awake?"

"Just about Mom."

"Breakfast will be ready in half an hour."

"Okay Mom." Nick replied.

"Your Mom gets up early." Sara said.

"She always gets up this early. She has seven kids and a full time job and she lives on ranch. The chickens have to be fed and the horses mucked out."

"You have horses?"

"I actually have a horse here too. I'll introduce you later."

"What's he or she called?"

"A she and I'll tell you later."

"We should get up." Sara said.

"Five minutes more minutes." Nick pleaded.

"Okay."

CSI

"Morning Dad." Nick said as he and Sara walked into the kitchen.

"Nicholas." His father said. "You must be Sara."

"Nice to meet you Mr Stokes."

"Call me Bill." Bill Stokes suggested. "And the two of you sit down."

"So how was your flight Dad?" Nick inquired.

"After the delay it was fine. How was your flight?"

"It made me remember why I don't like flying coach." Nick replied.

"You should upgrade to business class you get more legroom."

"It's only a couple of hours." Nick replied.

"Good morning Sara." Jillian said as she set some toast on the table.

"Good morning."

"How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good. I'm not used to it being so quiet at night."

"I had the opposite problem last time I came to Las Vegas to visit Nick, it was too loud."

"Sammy scared her half to death even though I'd warned her." Nick said.

"He's a good alarm clock." Jillian said.

"I just wasn't expecting it." Sara stated.

"You'll get used to it." Bill said. "Some days I sleep through it."

"That's comforting."

"So Sara, do you like being a CSI?"

"Yes. I like the challenge of figuring out what happened. As Grissom says the evidence doesn't lie."

"But sometimes evidence is put there to mislead you." Bill pointed out.

"A good CSI can make the distinction, there is usually something that is out of place but you just have to make sense of it, even if the outcome isn't what you expect."

"You went to Harvard didn't you?"

"Yes." Sara replied.

"Dad, this isn't an interrogation." Nick pointed out.

TBC


	49. Chapter 49

"Sara I'd like you to meet my baby." Nick said as he stopped outside the stable of his horse.

"Should I be jealous?" Sara asked.

"If you want to be jealous of a horse." Nick replied. He held out a hand with a sugar cube on and the horse walked over and took it from him. "Hey baby." Nick rubbed the horse's nose.

"She's beautiful." Sara said.

"You hear that?" Nick smiled.

"Can I touch her?" Sara inquired.

"Of course. But I should make introductions. I'd like you to meet Sara, Sara this is Stardust."

"You're joking."

"No."

"You're serious?" Sara questioned.

"Stardust is the daughter of Star Bright, granddaughter of Star Light and great-granddaughter of Star. Mom and Dad have her paperwork."

"You really named your horse Stardust?"

"Star was Mom's. We just kept the theme going." Nick smiled at her. "Can you ride a horse?"

"No."

"I'll teach you."

"You really named your horse Stardust?"

"Fate has a strange way of biting you in the butt." Nick smiled. "But it's not the worst name. When we were kids we have seven horses all named after the seven dwarfs."

"Seriously?"

"We went through a phase of naming pets after Disney characters. We had a cat called Pinocchio, a goat called Thumper."

"Well Stardust is beautiful for a horse."

Sara waited while Nick mucked out the horses and fed them. He'd tried to get Sara to help but she had politely refused.

"Oh god you smell." Sara said when he was done.

"It's not as bad as a decomp." Nick pointed out.

"But you should still take a shower." Sara stated.

"Okay, are you coming in?"

"Do you mind if I stay out here?" Sara asked.

"Just stay away from the animals and the equipment and you'll be fine." Nick replied.

"Okay."

Sara sat down at the picnic bench behind the house and looked around.

"You must be Sara."

Sara turned around to see a blonde teenager walking up.

"That would be me and you are?"

"Stacey Stokes." She replied.

"Nice to meet you."

"You too. Are Aunt Emily and Uncle Jack here yet?"

"I think you're grandmother said they'd be here this afternoon." Sara replied.

"Where's Uncle Nicky?" Stacey inquired.

"Taking a shower." Sara answered.

"I guess I'll have to wait." She set her book bag down and sat down on the side of the table.

"Everything okay?" Sara inquired.

"I've just got this really hard Physics assignment and I thought Uncle Jack or Uncle Nicky could help since they were here."

"I could help." Sara offered.

"You know anything about Physics?" Stacey asked.

"I have a degree in it from Harvard." Sara replied.

"I guess that qualifies you." Stacey agreed. "You don't mind?"

"No." Sara stated. "So where do you fall in the family?"

"Andy and Erin's daughter." Stacey replied. "The younger one. I'm fifteen, but I'm older than all my cousins."

"Right.

"So how do you like Texas so far?" Stacey inquired.

"It's a lot quieter than Vegas."

"I've only ever seen Vegas on TV. It looks busy."

"It is. So are you inviting anyone to this party your grandparents are throwing tomorrow?"

"You mean like a boyfriend?" Stacey asked.

"Maybe."

"You try having a boyfriend with this family."

"It's a problem?" Sara questioned.

"Every single member of law enforcement in three counties knows who I am. Everyone in town knows the family and that pretty much scares guys off."

"That has to suck." Sara said.

"Yes." Stacey replied.

"So what do you have to do for you project?" Sara asked.

TBC


	50. Chapter 50

When Nick came out the house he saw the back of two heads. One he recognised instantly, the second the blonde, it took him longer. He hadn't heard a car pull up so that meant it had to be one of his family's and since there were only two blondes, and judging by the clothes this had to be the younger one.

"Stace?" He said out loud.

"Hey Uncle Nick." She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "Welcome home."

"Thanks. Do Grandma and Pops know you're here?"

"Not yet." Stacey replied.

"What about your Mom and Dad?"

"Mom got stuck covering the night shift and doesn't finish until noon and Dad got a call at three am. He's not home yet. So I left Lara a note to tell her where I am. And before you say it I've been walking over here by myself since I was ten."

"Good." Nick sat down. "It's good to see you. You definite get more beautiful every time I see you."

"Uncle Nick." Stacey blushed.

"So you couldn't wait to see me?" Nick said.

"Actually I came to see if Uncle Jack was here yet."

"Oh." Nick sounded slightly disappointed.

"You were next on my list but Sara offered to help."

"Help with what?" Nick inquired.

"Physics homework." Sara replied.

"Then Sara is definitely the person to ask."

"I'm going to get a drink and say hello to Grandma and Pops, do you want anything Sara."

"I'm fine thank you Stacey." Sara said.

"Be right back."

"I see you've made a friend." Nick said when Stacey had gone.

"She's a good kid."

"We think so."

"She was telling me how hard it is to be a teenage girl and a Stokes in this town."

"How hard can it be everyone knows who she is?"

"Exactly. Try getting a date when your whole is connected to the legal system and since this is Texas I'm pretty sure they all have guns."

"You have a gun." Nick pointed out.

"Only because they make us carry one." Sara countered.

"Good point. By the way you'll be able to tell Stacy from the rest of the family tomorrow."

"How's that?"

"She and her mom Erin are the only ones who are blonde."

"Okay good to know."

"So is Texas too bad?"

"Its nice fresh air and not so much light pollution."

"Well given that most of the hotels and casinos have a couple hundred thousand at least on their signs I'd say light pollution is a problem."

"You can see the lights from space."

"Probably." Nick agreed.

"Hey Uncle Nicky." Stacey said when she came outside.

"Yes darlin'."

"Grandma said if Sara doesn't mind helping me, you could go to the store for her."

"I could probably manage that."

"I think she wants some hotdogs and things for tomorrow."

"She's going make me cook too isn't she?"

"Mom's bring potato salad and pie." Stacey said.

"That really good potato salad she won't give me the recipe for?" Nick asked.

"You can get the recipe anytime you like, she stole if from the Food Network website." Stacey replied.

"Oh really. That's interesting."

"She cuts up dead bodies for a living I don't think she has time to figure out a decent potato salad recipe otherwise."

"Smart alek." Nick said. "Well you ladies have fun."

"Don't get lost or I owe Dad a nickel."

"You think I'd get lost?"

"Depends on if your sense of direction is any better than that time you tried to take the kids to the zoo."

"I thought we weren't talking about that."

"I'll just tell Sara when you're gone." Stacey said.

"You know what I'm beginning to like Texas even more." Sara beamed.

TBC


	51. Chapter 51

"Stacey." Someone called to her.

"LJ."

"You should tell somewhere you're going before you disappear." Lara-Jo told her.

"You were asleep, Dad and Mom are still working and I left a note on the chalk board by the door like always. Sara, this is my sister Lara-Jo. Lara, this Sara, Uncle Nick's fiancée."

"Nice to meet you." Lara-Jo said.

"You too."

"Is she bugging you?"

"No, I'm helping her with her homework." Sara replied.

"Sara studied Physics at Harvard." Stacey told her.

"Impressive."

"When do you start college?" Sara inquired.

"Next year."

"Any idea where you want to go?" Sara asked.

"Stanford or Cal State."

"California. I grew up there." Sara replied.

"In California?"

"Just outside San Francisco." Sara confirmed. "Any ideas what you want to study?"

"Anthropology."

"Just anthropology or forensic anthropology?"

"Not sure yet."

"I know a few forensic anthropologists; they come in when we have to put a human jigsaw back together."

"Jigsaw?" Stacey questioned.

"Sometimes when you find people they are just bones and sometimes you need help putting their skeleton back together in the right order." Sara explained. "It's like a jigsaw puzzle, every piece has a right place, some are easier to spot than others."

"How'd you end up working in Vegas?" Lara-Jo asked.

"My boss Grissom called me and asked me to come help out on a case and I never left." Sara replied.

"And that's where you met Uncle Nicky."

"Your uncle was tossing dummies off the top of a hotel roof, trying to figure out if the guy had jumped, fallen or was pushed."

"That's slightly creepy."

"It's physics." Sara corrected. "Mass, force, rotation…"

"And that can tell you if someone jumped or was pushed?"

"That's what a criminalist does, we figure out what happened. Evidence doesn't lie, but people do."

"Is that the ring?" Lara asked as she noticed as Sara moved her hand.

"Yes." Sara held out her hand so she could look.

"It's beautiful. Uncle Nicky really picked that?"

"All by himself." Sara replied.

"How did he propose?"

"We were at work, he came in to talk to me and just before he left he set the ring box on the desk in front of me. It had the ring in and little tag that said marry me on it. I had to go and find him to say yes, although I did make him propose properly too."

"That's romantic." Stacey said.

"Where is Uncle Nicky anyway?" Lara-Jo asked.

"Grandma sent him shopping." Stacey replied.

TBC

A/N: I know it's short, but I have a stomach bug and don't feel up to writing anymore today.


	52. Chapter 52

"So this is where you girls disappeared to." A woman said walking over to the table. Sara could instantly recognise her as the girls' mother.

"You can't exactly call it disappearing if we left you a note." Stacey countered.

"Are you behaving yourselves?"

"Don't we always?" Lara-Jo countered.

"That's debatable."

"So Dad's still not home." Stacey said.

"No. When did he leave?"

"Around three." Stacey replied.

"I'm sure he'll be back at some point. I'm sorry we haven't met. Erin Stokes."

"Sara Sidle." Sara shook her hand.

"Nick's fiancée. Sorry I've been up all night."

"Don't worry I'm used to working nights." Sara said.

"So any interesting cases Mom?" Lara-Jo inquired.

"A couple heart attacks and drug overdose. Nothing that interesting tonight."

"Doc Robbins likes nights like that." Sara said.

"Doc Robbins? He's your forensic pathologist?" Erin guessed.

"Medical Examiner, yes. Great guy, hates decomps as much as the rest of us."

"It's trying to get the smell out that's the problem."

"The sale of lemons goes up considerably when we have one."

"Beats the ones for all the drinks they sell in all the bars and casinos."

"True." Sara smiled.

"So where is one of my favourite brother-in-laws?" Erin inquired.

"Grandma sent him shopping a couple hours ago." Stacey supplied.

"He'll be back soon." Erin said.

"If you swap those two figures around, you're done." Sara pointed to the end of Stacey's homework.

"Thank you Sara."

"Not a problem." Sara smiled.

"Hey girls I thought you might like some iced-tea… Oh Erin I didn't realise you were here."

"Just came by to check on the kids. I was going to come in a few minutes." Erin said.

"It's okay, it's a nice day and you just got of work."

"What time did you want us over tomorrow?" Erin inquired.

"Come over at around noon."

A car pulled up a few minutes later.

"I guess Nicholas is back." Jillian said. "I'll see you all later."

"I'll come and say goodbye before I head home." Erin told her.

"Bye girls."

"Bye Grandma." The echoed.

"Hello ladies." Nick said when he came outside ten minutes carrying a bag.

"Hey Nicky." Erin gave him a hug. "You look well."

"And you look like you've been up all night." Nick winked at her.

"You always were charming." Erin said.

"So did you get lost?" Stacey asked.

"No, thank you very much. Did you do your homework?"

"Yes thank you very much." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very mature." Lara-Jo commented.

"Hey Lara-Jo. How did you get to be 18 years old already?"

"18 years of being alive." Lara-Jo offered as an explanation.

"And you still have a 4.0 grade point average?"

"Of course."

"Good girl. Hey Sara." He gave her a quick kiss.

"Hey."

"I brought a present." He handed her the bag.

Sara opened it and pulled out a cowboy hat and put it on her head.

TBC


	53. Chapter 53

"Very cute." Nick commented.

"It'll be good for tomorrow, being out in the sun for most of the day." Erin said.

"When in Texas…" Sara muttered.

"Girls why do you go and say goodbye to Grandma and Pops and we'll head home and see about lunch."

"She still treats us like us we were five." Lara-Jo said.

"I remember when you were five." Nick recalled. "You ran around and insisted that everyone direct their questions to your doll rather than you and you Miss Stacey had an invisible dog named Baxter."

"Still doesn't beat the Red Fish, Blue Fish thing." Sara commented.

"He told you about that?" Erin asked.

"No Jillian did." Sara replied.

"How do you know about it?" Nick asked.

"Nick I may have been married to your brother for 20 years, but I've been Caroline's best friend since we were five. I spent more time here growing up than I did at home. I was here the day you came home from the hospital, the day you took your first steps and said your first word. I even recall changing your diaper once."

"Let's not even get into that." Nick said.

"What's this about a red fish and a blue fish?" Lara-Jo inquired.

"I'll tell you on the way home. Go and say goodbye."

"Fine." They went inside.

"I could tell you where his birth mark is." Erin offered to tell Sara.

"Okay enough embarrassing me today." Nick suggested.

"I was only just getting started." Erin said with a smile.

"Remind me to give you my e-mail address before I go home." Sara told her.

"Deal. I should go and say goodbye too. It was nice to have met you Sara."

"You too Erin."

"So you had fun while I was gone?" Nick sat down.

"I like your family so far. Are they all like that?"

"Pretty much."

"Tomorrow should be fun."

"So do you like your hat?"

"It's better than that headdress Greg wore and danced around the lab in." Sara said.

"High praise."

"At least it's not pink." Sara added.

"That will do." Nick kissed her.

"Get a room." Lara-Jo called out.

"Weren't you going home?" Nick asked.

"There are still indecency laws in Texas." Lara-Jo reminded him.

"Did you know the Encyclopaedia Britannica is banned from Texas because it tells you how to make beer at home?" Sara asked. "Or that there is an anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed."

"Greg?" Nick guessed.

"He thought I should know the things I could get arrested for. You can't take more than three sips of a beer while standing up at any one time either. You can legally shoot someone if they give you the gun first."

"You know I think most of the family should have been arrested for that beer thing." Stacey said.

"There's another good one. If you get let out of jail and request it you have to be given a horse and a gun."

"That's exactly what you want to give a criminal a gun and a means to get away." Stacey remarked.

"This is the state you live in." Sara replied.

"Any stupid laws in Nevada?"

"You can't drive a camel down the highway."

"Interesting, where exactly would you get a camel?" Lara-Jo asked.

"Probably at one of the hotels." Nick supplied.

"And in Clark County where we live, you can't bring a concealed weapon into the county unless it's registered with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police department, but to do that you have to take it to the police department. And if you can't do it on a weekend."

"They don't really enforce that do they?"

"I'm sure your Dad would use the notice one to get someone off one day." Nick said.

"You should ask the very nice lawyers and judges and cops and FBI Agents in your family." Sara said.

A/N: Laws from 


	54. Chapter 54

"Mom's planning on making burritos for dinner, vegetarian for you and Jack of course, but we're on our own for lunch." Nick told her.

"So what did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking I could pack a small picnic basket and I'll teach you how to ride and we'll stop for lunch before we come back. Emily, Jack and kids should be here by then."

"Sounds like a plan." Sara smiled.

"So you're up for a little horse ride?"

"As long as I don't fall off and break something."

"Just hold on tight cowgirl." He said kissing her.

CSI CSI

"Can we stop now?" Sara asked. Nick had had her riding around the coral near the house for ten minutes to get used to it, before riding out for half an hour.

"You went ten more minutes than I thought you would." Nick said with a smile. "Let me tie Apollo to that tree and I'll help you down."

Nick had borrowed his father's horse and let Sara ride Stardust.

"Thank you." Sara said when Nick helped her down.

"I'm sure you can come up with a better thank you than that cowgirl."

"You'll have to get rid of this first." Sara took off his hat so she could get close enough to kiss him.

"Yes ma'am." His lips descended on hers.

The kiss was broken when Stardust neighed.

"I guess we have a chaperone." Sara smiled.

"I guess we do darlin'."

"So you said something about lunch."

"Yes ma'am."

Nick laid out a blanket he'd brought with them on the ground and set out the food.

"So what do you think?"

"It sure beats Nevada." Sara said.

"So you like Texas?"

"It has its plus points." Sara smirked.

"And some of those plus points are?"

"Well you're here right now."

"And you're here too." He moved closer to her.

"Now how about that." Sara pushed him back and kissed him.

"How about that." Nick echoed and rolled her onto her back and slipped a hand up the back of her shirt.

"I don't know how you do things in Las Vegas, Nevada, but here in Texas we still have decency laws." A deep Texan accent sound.

"Hey Clint." Nick said rolling onto his back.

"Nick." Clint said from his horse. "Ma'am." He tilted his hat.

"Sara, I'd like you to meet my interrupting PI brother-in-law Clint Talbot."

"Nice to meet you." Sara said blushing.

"Clint used to be a rodeo champion before my sister convinced him that getting thrown off a horse wasn't a good idea for a father."

"Becky right?" Sara said.

"Right." Nick agreed.

"That's what you get for marrying a shrink." Clint said. "And Nick you know if you want to get some this weekend you're going to need a hotel room or stake out the hay barn."

"I was doing just fine until you turned up."

"And Sara is getting redder by the minute." Clint commented.

"Where are Becky and the kids?"

"Home baking for tomorrow." Clint replied. "I got kicked out."

"Eating all the chocolate chips again?" Nick guessed.

"Perhaps. I should let you two get back to your picnic. It was nice to meet you Sara."

"You too." Sara said.

"I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Tell Becky and the kids I said hello." Nick told him.

"I will."

"Well that was embarrassing." Sara said when he'd gone.

"Oh don't worry it doesn't beat the time my Dad caught him skin dipping in the pond with Becky. Now where were we?"

TBC


	55. Chapter 55

"I'm going to ache in muscle I didn't know I had tomorrow aren't?" Sara asked as Nick finished putting the horses away.

"Probably. But once you get used to riding a horse so do those muscle groups so it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Since that was probably the only time I'll ride a horse this year, I think a hot bath is going to have to fix it."

"Well if I can be any help with that." Nick wrapped his arms around her.

"I'll let you know." Sara gave him a quick kiss. "We should head inside before your parents come looking for us."

"I'm an adult, I know my way around."

"Inside or I'll be passing on more of the interesting pieces of information I find out this weekend to the entire lab."

"You're going to tell them anyway." Nick pointed out.

"Only the cute stories." Sara said. "The endearing ones."

"Your definition of endearing is the same as mine for embarrassing."

"But you look so cute when you blush." Sara stated smiling before turning and walking away. Nick just watched her.

"Did you have a nice ride?" Bill inquired when Sara got inside.

"It was good, other than the sore muscles, it really is beautiful here."

"We like it." Bill agreed.

"We ran into Clint, or more technically he ran into us."

"At least there will be some people you know tomorrow rather than meeting them all at once."

"From those I've met so far, you have a great family." Sara commented.

"It's all that Texan charm." Bill stated.

"It's a great accent; Nick's is a lot stronger here."

"Or at least sounds that way." Bill pointed out. "If you live somewhere long enough your accent always changes slightly softens or increases. Wait until you meet Jack, he's gained a slight Texan twang in his accent since he's lived here so long."

"That's one thing about Las Vegas, people come there from everywhere and you should never be shocked about anything that happens because the city is full of people who do strange things."

"And you see more than your fair share in your line of work."

"You should see the strange things people have conventions for." Sara said.

"Hey Sara…" Nick said walking into the room. "Hey Dad."

"Sara was just telling me she met Clint."

"Becky kicked him out while she and the girls were cooking." Nick explained.

"He was eating the chocolate chips again."

"That's what I thought."

"Is there something I should know?" Sara asked.

"When Rebecca was pregnant with Amy she had cravings for chocolate chips and Clint used to steal a few every now and then." Bill started to explain.

"Let's just when Becky found out Clint ended up with all his stuff on the lawn." Nick added.

"It took two days of negotiations for her to let him come home again." Bill added.

"So ever since every time he steals the chocolate chips she throws him out for a couple of hours. It's tradition."

"Oh." Sara said. "At least it was just his stuff."

"Now I get the feeling I'm missing something." Bill said.

"The case I was investigating when Sara came to Vegas was about a guy who had won millions on one of the slots then dumped his girlfriend. She hit him over the head and tossed him over the balcony." Nick explained.

"Nick was tossing dummies off the roof and getting covered in heat reflecting roof dust that doesn't come off when I arrived."

"This job really does ruin your clothes." Nick stated.

"So have you two thought about when you want to get married?" Bill inquired.

"We're still trying to figure out the logistics of it." Nick replied.

"Logistics?"

"If we get married here, there is a problem with all our friends in Vegas getting the time off to come out here for the wedding and if we get married there we have a logistical nightmare with the whole family being there."

"So get married in Vegas." Bill said.

"Excuse me?" Nick questioned.

"Get married in Vegas with your friends, your mother and I will come and then come back here and we'll have another ceremony or blessing with the family all here. You can invite your cousins, I can officiate haven't been asked to do a wedding in years, and then everybody will be happy."

"What do you think?" Nick asked Sara.

"No aliens or Elvis." She stated.

"Deal."

TBC


	56. Chapter 56

"Pops." A small brunette ran in and hugged Bill's legs.

"Why if it isn't my little angel Louise." He picked her up.

"I love ya Pops." She kissed his cheek.

"I love you too angel." Bill hugged. "Hey Louise do you remember who that is?" Bill asked pointing in Nick's direction.

"Unca Nicky." Louise broke into an even bigger smile.

"Hey angel. You've grown right up since I last saw you. How old are you now?" She held up four fingers. "Four. You're practically a lady."

Louise giggled into her grandfather's shoulder.

"Who's that?" She asked when she noticed Sara.

"That's my friend Sara." Nick told her. "Sara, I'd like you to meet my niece Louise Bridges."

"It's nice to meet you Louise." Sara smiled.

"She's a little shy." A female voice said from the doorway.

"Emily." Nick quickly walked over and gave her a hug.

"It's been a while little brother. You look like you need to eat more."

"I eat plenty." Nick stated.

"I can attest to that." Sara said.

"But you look great." Nick told her. "Where are Jack and Luke?"

"Mom has Luke and Jack is bringing the bags in."

"Emily this is Sara. Sara, Emily."

"It's nice to finally meet you, he's told me a lot about you in his e-mails." Emily told her.

"Nick's mentioned everybody, so I'm still trying to match names, to faces to stories."

"You'll get there real quick." Emily said. "Hey Daddy."

"Emily." Bill smiled. "Good trip?"

"Traffic wasn't bad. She probably needs a nap as well as being shy. She's been up since five excited about coming to visit."

"Em." A tall, dark haired man appeared in the doorway.

"Jack, come and meet Sara."

"Jack Bridges nice to meet you." He held out his hand.

"Sara Sidle. Nice to meet you too." She shook it. "You'd be the vegetarian NASA engineer."

"Nice to see Nick is pointing out my good qualities." Jack grinned. "Good to see you again Nick, you too Bill."

Both men acknowledged him.

"Nick was just trying to explain why I wouldn't get eaten alive for being a vegetarian in Texas."

"Being a vegetarian is fine, as long as someone remembers to tell your future in-laws first before they offer you their best prime rib." Jack stated.

"It was a small over sight." Emily bit her lip.

"So what made you become a vegetarian Sara?" Jack inquired ignoring his wife. "Or is it a family thing?"

"Let's just say a pig in a blanket and not the kind you eat."

"Right." Jack said.

"Our boss, the entomologist, was trying to figure out the decomposition rate for a case." Nick explained.

"I think my explanation was less graphic." Sara said.

"Sara a doctor?" Louise asked.

"No." Sara replied. "But I am a scientist. I try to figure out how bad things happened by looking at what people leave behind like your uncle Nick."

Nick was impressed with her child friendly explanation of their job.

"Okay." Louise said.

"Hey Lou." Emily said. "Why don't we go and say hello to Grandma and then it's time to take a little nap?"

"But Momma…"

"Angel, if you take a nap then you'll be more awake so we can watch your movie." Bill reminded.

"Nemo?" Louise's face lit up.

"Nemo." Bill agreed.

"Okay. Down Pops."

"Down." Bill set her on her feet.

"Thanks Dad." Emily said. "Come on Lou."

"At least her favourite movie changes every time we come to visit." Jack offered a consolation to Bill. "And it's not a sing-a-long one this time."

"I know. I'm grateful for small mercies."

TBC


	57. Chapter 57

"Dada." Luke cried out cheerfully when Jack walked into the room.

"Hey Luke." Jack took him from Jillian.

"Grama."

"Yes it's grandma." Jack said. "And Pops look."

"Pa." Luke held out his hands to Bill.

"Hey Lukey."

"He's gotten so much bigger since I last saw him." Nick commented.

"That may be a hint that you should come home more often." Jillian said.

"It's hard enough getting leave as it is Mom. If you want Sara can come and visit without me she's got plenty of leave saved up."

"You're always welcome." Jillian told her.

"Thank you." Sara smiled.

"He should probably have a nap too otherwise he'll be more grouchy than Louise." Jack said.

Bill handed his grandson over to his father.

"So that's eight out of 25." Jillian said.

"Nine." Bill corrected. "Sara met Clint too."

"I think that's a reasonable percentage for one day." Nick commented.

"But you never know who is going to drop by." Bill said. "Especially on weekends."

Sara yawned.

"Sorry." She apologised. "I guess I'm not used to be up during the day."

"Maybe you used should go and take a nap too." Jillian suggested.

"If you don't mind."

"Go ahead." Bill told her. "We'll all be here when you wake up."

"Thanks." Sara excused herself.

"So where are Nick and Sara?" Emily asked when she came back from putting her children down for a nap.

"Sara went to lie down, they work nights so she's not used to being up at this time of day. Nick went outside." Jillian replied.

"I guess I'll go and catch up with my little brother."

"Nicky." Emily said when she approached him outside.

"Hey Em."

"What are you doing out here?"

"Just getting some air." He replied.

"So Sara seems nice."

"She is. She's a little overwhelmed and it's only going to get worse tomorrow."

"She doesn't have a big family?" Emily questioned.

"Sara spent a long time in foster care. She has a brother she lost contact with through it. She really doesn't have any family except the people at the lab."

"Wow!"

"You know how it was for Jack and Bobby when they meet everyone. It was different for Erin, Gibson, Leland and Clint have know the family for years so they knew what they were coming into and that was before there were all the kids too. Sara's just getting thrown into all of this."

"She'll get used to it." Emily told her.

"I know she will. If we can find her some more of Stacey's science homework to help with she'll be fine."

"Stacey's homework?"

"She came over for help with her physics homework, she was looking for Jack but since Sara's degree is in physics she helped out. Science is the one thing that always made sense to her it got her through everything; it's why she maxes out on overtime almost every month."

"You really love her don't you?" Emily said.

"Yes."

"I'm happy for you little brother." Emily hugged him.

"Thanks."

"So Mom and Dad have final found someone to marry the last of us off too."

"They've been at it for the last twenty years since Andy married Erin."

"That was pretty much inevitable. She had a crush on him as long as I can remember."

"And Andy wouldn't go near her since she was his sister's best friend." Nick recalled. "I guess you really can meet your soul mate when you're a kid."

"I know it's something you only read about in books." Emily said.

"In one of yours I believe." Nick remarked. "You're good."

"You read them?" Emily questioned.

"Of course. I had check for procedural errors." Nick said in mock seriousness.

"And did you find any?" She inquired.

"No." Nick replied.

"That's what you get for having your own team of experts on the end of the phone." She smiled.

"And everybody in the Dallas criminal justice system."

"I wasn't cut out to be a cop or lawyer or forensic scientist or doctor, I'm better at writing about them, which is why I was nominated for an award for my last book."

"Very impressive. Congratulations."

"Thank you. Maybe I'll dedicate the next one to you and Sara."

"Always nice to get your name in print for a good reason." Nick winked at her.

TBC


	58. Chapter 58

Sara felt the bed dip, then a prod in her side as she woke from her nap.

She slowly opened her eyes one at a time to be greeted by a smiling face.

"Hello." Sara said.

"Sara."

"And you're Louise." Sara said.

"Time to wake up."

"Did Uncle Nick tell you to come and wake me up?" Sara asked.

"No I woked up and came to find Mommy."

"But you found me instead." Sara finished for her. "Is your little brother still asleep?"

Louise nodded.

"Do you want to lay down here with me for a while?" Sara asked.

"Want milk."

"You want a glass of milk." Sara said. "Okay, time to get up anyway." Sara crawled out of bed and slipped her shoes back on. She ran a hand over her hair to flatten it down. "Let's go and get some milk." Sara helped Louise off the bed.

Sara and Louise made it downstairs without running into anyone and went into the kitchen.

"Do you know where you grandma keeps the glasses?" Sara asked. Louise pointed to one of the kitchen cabinets.

Sara got out to plastic glasses and got the milk from the fridge and filled the glasses half full. She placed them on the table and helped Louise on to a chair so she could drink it.

Louise noticed her uncle sneak into the room and signal for her not to say anything as he crept up behind Sara.

"Don't even think about it Nick." Sara warned causing Louise to giggle.

"How did you know it was me?" Nick asked.

"Because you're a bigger kid than Greg sometimes." Sara replied.

"So did you ladies have a nice nap?"

"I was thirsty." Louise said. "Sara got me milk."

"Well that was nice of her." Nick smiled. "Should we tell her she has a milk moustache angel?"

Louise shook her head, as Sara wiped it away.

"I guess she heard." Nick winked at Louise.

"Who is Greg?" Louise asked.

"A friend of ours from where we live." Sara explained.

"My friend is called Daisy; she has a brother called Mark."

"Daisy is a very pretty name." Sara smiled.

"I'm gonna find Mommy. Thank you for the milk."

"You're welcome." Sara said.

"She woke you up didn't she?" Nick guessed when Louise had gone.

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"It's okay." Sara replied. "I do have one question though."

"Only one that must be a first for you."

"Hey." She protested.

"Sorry. You had a question."

"Why do you all call Louise angel? It seems to be something more than a term of endearment."

"The whole time we were growing up Emily insisted if she had a little girl she would be called Angel. She changed her mind when she was pregnant. Lou was born six weeks early and they didn't think she'd make it if for a few days, she stopped breathing twice. It was a miracle that she survived so we call her angel."

"She doesn't look any worse of for it."

"She isn't fortunately. Luke made up for it, he was two weeks late."

"That's boys for you." Sara grinned.

"Uh huh." He kissed her.

"Sorry I'm interrupting." Jack said when he walked in.

"No you're not." Sara replied. "Louise is a sweet little girl."

"Most of the time." Jack agreed. "She's been known to have a few temper tantrums in her time."

"Don't all kids?"

"You're probably right." Jack had to admit. "If you really want any time alone this weekend try the hay barn."

"That's the second time someone has mentioned that today." Sara remarked.

"At least a couple of the kids had to be conceived out there as far as I know." Jack said.

"Lara-Jo was almost certainly was." Nick pointed out.

TBC


	59. Chapter 59

"So Sara how did my brother ask you out?" Emily inquired.

"He didn't really." Sara replied.

"He obviously didn't just walk up to you out of the blue and propose."

"No. We just started hanging out after work, it ended up being pretty much everyday; I kept falling asleep on his couch. He sat me down after about a month and asked me if we were dating."

"Something about smart people being blind springs to mind." Emily said.

"We work in a lab full of very smart people none of them notice, apart from our boss who is usually pretty oblivious to human interaction. It took them a while to figure out I was engaged to."

"It's a gorgeous ring."

"It's one of the only few that wasn't stolen at a jewellery store robbery that Nick investigated."

"I was going to say my little brother doesn't seem like the type to spend hours in a jewellery store."

"Warrick and Greg offered to test the diamond to make sure it was real."

"I doubt he'd buy you a fake."

"I know he wouldn't." Sara said.

"Any plans for the wedding?" Emily inquired.

"Your father came up with the best solution. We're going to get married in Vegas so all our friends can come since they all wouldn't be able to get time off work and then we're going to have another ceremony here so all of the family can come."

"Seems reasonable."

CSI

"So how's NASA?" Nick asked Jack.

"Well if you listen to the news getting too much money and building things that don't work."

"Sounds like you're making decent leaps forward; they just need a little more work before they get launched."

"Deadlines are deadlines." Jack replied.

"If NASA extended the deadlines then there would be less 'Houston we have a problem' speeches needed."

"Like I haven't heard that one before."

"I have a whole array of rocket scientist jokes." Nick offered.

"I wouldn't say any of them unless you want me to lose all respect for you."

"Now we wouldn't want that."

"So Sara studied physics?"

"Yes."

"So she's smart, beautiful what exactly does she see in you?"

"I have no idea." Nick admitted.

"Your parents kept expecting you to tell them you'd eloped with an airhead stripper."

"You really don't need to elope in Vegas, you just walk half a block and you find another wedding chapel. Besides one of our co-workers used to be an exotic dancer and she is one of the smartest women I know."

"How do you go from being an exotic dancer to a crimes scene investigator?"

"She had a lousy ex-husband and a kid, and she used the money to pay for school. She likes the idea of solving puzzles."

"So you're certain you don't want to marry a stripper and ruin the family tradition of marrying people with decent jobs and college educations?" Jack asked.

"No. I'm good."

"You know you're family did pretty good on the odds stakes. In all probably there had to be at least one screw up but you all turned out pretty well."

"That's what you get for your parents being lawyers growing up and all the cops knowing who you are."

"You know we should probably be drinking beer having this conversation." Jack pointed out.

"As long as we don't drink more than three sips standing up other wise we could get arrested."

"Then you'd have to arrest practically every adult in the state, including your parents."

"I think the jails would be a little full." Nick said.

"Or empty if the cops had to arrest themselves and there was no-one to arrest anyone else."

"Most states have stupid laws but I'm pretty sure if they needed to arrest someone for something and couldn't find a legitimate reason they'd use it."

"Al Capone and his taxes." Jack said.

"Think the Cowboys have a shot this year?"

"Maybe if they let their cheerleaders play."

"That's harsh." Nick said.

"You know I'm a Bears fan."

"You think living in Texas for the last ten years you'd have seen the light."

"No. Bears fan all the way."

TBC


	60. Chapter 60

"So?" Nick asked as they got ready for bed.

"I think you need to expand that to form a question." Sara suggested.

"What do you think so far?"

"Emily thinks you should have asked me out on a date officially but she approves of the ring."

"I did ask you out, well to hang out, it just took us a while to figure out that they were dates." Nick said.

"I know. I said Emily thinks. The way it happened was more us."

"Jack's impressed you're not a stripper." Nick told her.

"I'm not sure how to take that." Sara said.

"Since I live in 'Sin City' they were expecting me to marry a stripper or an exotic dancer."

"There is a whole city of those if you want to change your mind."

"You'll do darlin'." Nick winked at her.

"Are you sure because Greg will be more than happy to take me off your hands?"

"You're mine." Nick told her and pulled her onto the bed.

"Aren't you possessive." Sara teased.

"You bet I am."

"I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her.

"You're going to have to show me that hay barn." Sara said.

"Seriously?"

"Everyone keeps mention it, it would be a shame to miss it."

"Let's go." He grabbed her hand. "How do you feel about drainpipes?"

"I prefer doors." Sara said.

"Trees?"

"Doors."

"Trust you to take all the romanticism out of it." Nick said.

"Let's just go." Sara told him.

CSI

When Sara and Nick tried to creep back into the house a few hours later they hoped that they wouldn't wake anyone up.

"I don't know sneaking in the house in the middle of the night." Emily said. She had been in the kitchen getting a glass of water.

"Hey Em."

"I would ask where you'd gone but since Sara still has straw in her hair it's pretty easy to guess."

Sara's hand automatically went to her hair.

"I remember you throwing things at my bedroom window to get me to let you in on more than one occasion. Especially when you were sneaking around with Tommy Gillian."

"You threatened to tell Mom and Dad."

"The guy is in jail now." Nick pointed out. "Dad was the DA who put him there."

"Do you really think I cared about that at the time? He had a Harley and was hot."

"He knocked over a bank." Nick countered.

"And managed to steal the grand total of $500." Emily pointed out. "He wasn't exactly good at it. He only got 15 years in jail because Dad is good at making juries like him and because Tommy took his Daddy's shot gun with him and he tripped over the rug and it went off into the ceiling."

"He's still in jail." Nick pointed out.

"Which happened about five years after it was over." Emily countered.

"I'll leave you two to debate this." Sara said.

"It's okay I have to go and check on the kids before I go back to bed anyway."

"Well that was interesting." Sara said when she had gone.

"Don't be embarrassed."

"How many more of your relatives are going to catch us?" Sara asked.

"At least is wasn't my parents and besides we all have more than enough on each other to get people to keep their mouths shut."

"Maybe it's a good thing you won't find out anything about me unless I tell you."

"But you're going to collect as much blackmail material as possible while you're here." Nick guessed.

"Of course."

"Then you'll fit right in."

"We should get back to bed before we wake anyone up." Sara suggested.

TBC


	61. Chapter 61

Nick woke up to the sound of Sara moving around their room.

"Sara?" He groaned.

"Morning."

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out what to wear." Sara replied.

"Jeans and a top will be fine. It's not like the Governor is coming."

"Governor?" Sara repeated.

"He was Dad's college roommate and his best man when he married Mom. He's Andy's godfather too."

"The Governor of Texas." Sara clarified.

"Uncle Danny." Nick stated.

"Anyone else I should know about?"

"Dad met the President a couple of times but I don't think that he'll be invited and they know the state Senators and Congressmen. But my father was a District Attorney before he got appointed to the bench, they're both political positions, it stands to reason he'd know them."

"Right. Maybe I should have brought a skirt."

"Sara, we're going to be outside most of the day. I know we live in the middle of a desert but it gets hotter here sometimes, it's better to cover up so you don't get burnt."

"Jeans?"

"Jeans." Nick confirmed. "Come back to bed. It's Sunday no-one gets up early on a Sunday unless you want to go to Church with Mom and Dad and they haven't made us go unless we wanted to since we were fifteen."

"Your parents go to Church every Sunday?"

"9.30 service." Nick confirmed. "In all the time I've known you you never go to Church on a Sunday so come back to bed."

"Okay." Sara agreed. Nick held up the covers so she could crawl back in.

"Good morning." He kissed her.

"This is definitely a novelty."

"What me kissing you good morning?"

"And it being actually morning. We're usually only getting off work, or starting a double."

"That's what you get for working graveyard."

"We work graveyard but we get more interesting cases than dayshift."

"Things always get more interesting when the sun goes down."

"Isn't that an Uncle Kracker song?" Sara asked.

"And Kenny Chesney." Nick kissed her neck. "See Texas is rubbing off on you."

"No that's your hand." Sara put her hand on his to stop it running up her thigh.

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

"Sure you can. As far as I see it we have two options."

"Which are?" Nick asked.

"Get up."

"Or?" He prompted.

"Go back to sleep."

"No third option?"

"Nope."

"Then I vote for sleep." Nick said. He pulled her closer.

"Okay."

CSI CSI

Sara and Nick managed to sleep for another hour before they were startled awake by someone jumping on them.

Sara opened her eyes.

"Not Louise." She said.

"No." Nick agreed. "Sara, these are my nephews Justin and Robbie Austen. Boys say hello to Sara."

"Howdy." The boys said happily with accents even stronger than Nick's.

"Let me guess you want to be cowboys when you grow up." Sara said.

"I want to be a FBI Agent like Dad." One of them replied.

"Me too."

"How do you tell which one is which?" Sara whispered to Nick.

"Justin here has a freckle next to his left eye, and Robbie has one next to his right eye." Nick told her. "Where's your Mom?"

"Downstairs having coffee with Auntie Emily and Uncle Jack." Justin told him.

"They said to tell you it was time to get up." Robbie added.

"Okay go downstairs, we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay." They bounced off the bed.

TBC


	62. Chapter 62

"Interesting alarm clock you have there." Nick commented when they walked into the kitchen.

"Effective aren't they." Heather said getting up to give Nick a hug. "It's good to see you Nicky."

"You too." Nick hugged her back. "Heather, I'd like you to meet Sara. Sara this is my sister Heather Austen."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too Sara." Heather said. Sara could see the strong resemblance to Emily, even though they weren't identical twins.

"So what are you doing up this early?" Nick asked as he went to pour himself and Sara some coffee.

"The kids were excited, so I thought I'd bring them over so they could run around with their cousins." Heather replied. "Bobby's coming over later too."

"How's that going?" Nick inquired.

"He's around a lot more lately."

"Maybe the fact that you divorced him was a wake up call." Nick suggested.

"Although it was the most amicable divorce in history." Emily said. "He gave you everything and signed all the papers without question."

"He wasn't supposed to." Heather said.

"Give you everything?" Nick questioned.

"Sign the papers."

"Then why did you give them to him?"

"To see if he cared enough to put up a fight." Sara guessed.

"He obviously didn't." Heather said.

"Or he does, but he figured it would be easier for you and the kids if he didn't and just gave you what you wanted." Sara added.

"Are you sure you're not a shrink?" Heather asked.

"No."

"Obviously backfired." Nick stated.

"You're telling me."

"You want pancakes?" Nick offered.

"You're going to make them?" Heather asked.

"Sure."

"Pancakes would be great." Heather agreed.

Nick set about making the pancake batter.

"Do you remember the first time he tried to make pancakes he almost burnt the kitchen down?" Emily asked Heather.

"I remember."

"He burnt the kitchen down?" Sara questioned.

"I did not." Nick protested. "I only set the fire alarms off."

"And destroyed the pan in the process."

"I was 10." Nick pointed out.

"And you hid for about three hours and we all were looking for you." Emily recalled.

"It's not as bad as the time Andy decided to make a bonfire and set the lawn on fire." Heather recalled.

"Dad was running around with a bucket of water and Mom had the fire extinguisher." Emily added.

"If I remember both of you and Maggie wanted them to keep letting it burn. You wanted to toast marshmallows."

"What is the point of having a bonfire if you can't make smores?" Emily shrugged.

"Do you like Smore's Sara?" Heather inquired.

"Who doesn't? But I haven't had then in years."

"Carrie, chocolate gives her a headache." Heather replied.

"That's got to suck." Sara said.

"I'd suffer through it." Emily agreed.

"We had case where a guy died from eating chocolate a few years ago." Sara mentioned.

"Was he that allergic?" Emily asked.

"He just ate too many Chocobees." Nick stated.

"He ate about a 1lb a night for 16 years and all the lead that goes into the ground in the countries where they grow the chocolate and still leaded gas, got into the cocoa beans. So over the years the level built up and up and up and then a waitress hits him with an eye drop shooter and he's dead."

"The guy had the winning hand too didn't he?" Nick asked.

"I think so." Sara agreed.

"I guess there-in lies the lesson, don't eat that much chocolate." Emily stated.

TBC


	63. Chapter 63

A/N: Everyone have a great holiday, Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukah or that other holiday which is around this time of year that I can't remember the name of. More will be posted on the 26th.

"Anyone home?" A voice called after the sound of the door opening.

"No, come back tomorrow." Nick responded.

"Nice to have you home too little brother." Carrie said walking in.

"Carrie I'm taller than you and have been since I was fifteen." Nick pointed out.

"You're still my little brother. We haven't met Caroline Talbot."

"Sara Sidle." Sara shook her hand.

"Welcome to the family."

"Thanks."

"So where's Leland and the kids?" Nick inquired.

"Annabelle and Tommy didn't want to get up, so he's corralling them and Zoe's practicing for her piano recital next week and if I hear that song one more time I'm going to scream so I thought I'd just head over here."

"You're the one who thought piano lessons would be good for her." Heather pointed out.

"I know." Carrie sat down. "Hey Em."

"Carrie." Emily smiled. "So how did that case you were telling me about go?"

"Jury's still out." Carrie replied.

"How long does that make it?" Heather asked.

"8 days excluding weekends." Carrie told her. "I don't think the problem is whether he's guilty or not because the evidence proves he is, but they're having trouble determining whether it was murder one or manslaughter."

"What did the judge have to say?" Nick asked sitting down.

"He's going to give them until Tuesday and then tell them if they cant all unanimously agree on murder one, but can on manslaughter to find him guilty of manslaughter."

"How'd you feel about that?" Nick inquired.

"As long as the guy is off the streets. I'd prefer murder one, but if manslaughter is all we can get. It's what my boss told me to offer as a deal he wouldn't take anyway."

"How is Bert anyway?" Nick asked.

"We're trying to cut back. Stella and his doctor are concerned about his blood pressure."

"Bert?" Sara questioned.

"Bert Landers, the District Attorney." Carrie explained. "My boss, he got elected when Dad was asked to be a judge."

"We keep telling you you should run." Heather said.

"Maybe when the kids are all in high school but right now I'd never get to spend any time with them."

"Just let us know when you want to run we'll put posters up." Heather offered.

"I'll take you up on that."

"Did you see Jack on your way in?" Emily asked.

"He's running around with Lou, Justin and Robbie. I guessed Luke was in here with you."

"He's taking a nap." Emily confirmed. "He'll get rid of all their extra energy."

"If he wants to send some of the direction of my place he's more than welcome." Carrie said.

"That's the Talbot genes." Heather said. "Leland and Clint are both like that."

"I know." Carrie agreed with a sigh. "So Sara how much of the family have you met?"

"I met Maggie when she came to pick us up, Erin, Lara-Jo and Stacey when I was helping Stacey with her homework yesterday and we ran into Clint yesterday when Nick was teaching me how to ride a horse."

"He let you ride Stardust?" Heather questioned.

"Yes."

"Must be love, he never lets any of us ride her. Except when he's not here and doesn't know anything about it." Carrie said.

"Hey." Nick protested.

"We know she's your baby." Emily patted his arm. "But you need to learn to let go."

"It's unhealthy." Heather added.

"Now I remember why I moved to Vegas." Nick said.

"I thought it was because that bug guy offered you a job." Carrie said.

"That too."

"What's his name anyway?" Heather asked.

"Grissom." Sara supplied.

"Right."

"He's a forensic entomologist." Emily said. "By the way Nick thanks for that book it was really helpful."

"If want to ask questions about bugs, talk to Sara she knows more about them than I do."

TBC


	64. Chapter 64

Carrie grabbed the phone when it rang.

"Stokes residence." She answered. "Hey Mags… No Mom and Dad aren't back but come over anyway. Heather is here and Em obviously… No… Nick let Sara ride Stardust… I know….See you in ten minutes… Bye." She hung up "Maggie and co are on their way over."

"We would have never guessed." Nick rolled his eyes.

"Remember I could be beat you up when you were a kid, I can still do it now." Carrie told him.

"The karate classes we've been taking would help." Heather added.

"You've been taking self defence classes?" Nick questioned.

"Of course." Heather replied. "We've sort of turned it into a family event."

"How much of a family event?" Nick asked.

"Me and the kids, Erin, Lara-Jo, Stacey, Becky, Amy, Grace, Justin and Robbie and Maggie. Mom or Gib watch Lily and Matt." Carrie said.

"It's good exercise." Heather added. "We've all been going for about eight months."

"It's a good idea." Sara said.

"Hey Nicky why don't you out and check on Jack and the kids." Emily suggested.

"Why would I want to do that?" Nick asked.

"So you won't get embarrassed when we talk about you." Heather supplied.

"Maybe you could avoid talking about me then neither of us have a problem." Nick countered.

"Hey Carrie, where did Mom put Nicky's baby pictures?" Emily asked.

"This is wish I had more brothers." Nick stated. "Andrew wouldn't threaten to show my baby pictures to anyone."

"But Erin would." Heather winked at him.

"Now where are the ones of him in the bath?" Carrie got up.

"Fine I'm going. Sara, run if they get too much." Nick told her.

"I'll be fine." Sara assured him.

"Would y'all get going." Emily suggested.

Nick sighed and left.

"Get kicked out?" Jack asked when he got outside.

"They were threatening to show Sara my baby pictures."

"They probably will anyway." Jack pointed out.

"I know." Nick rolled his eyes.

"Uncle Nicky." Justin ran over. "Come and play with us."

"Okay." Nick agreed and joined in their game.

Ten minutes later he was jumped on by four other kids.

"Good tackle kids." Nick heard another familiar voice.

"Thanks Clint." Nick replied. "Hey Becky. Maggie, Gibson."

"Hey Nick." Becky stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.

"Got banished?" Gibson guessed.

"Of course. Hey Amy, Grace, Lily and Matthew." Nick tickled Matthew's stomach sending the three year old into a fit of giggles.

"The others inside?" Becky asked.

"Tell Sara tales about Nick." Jack added.

"We have a few to add don't we Becks." Maggie said. "Guys stay out here and help with the kids." She told her husband. "We'll take the coolers inside."

"Have fun." Becky winked at her husband and headed inside.

"That's not gonna turn out well." Clint muttered.

"At least the heat is off us for today." Gibson stated.

"Someone ask for food?" Becky asked when she walked in followed by Maggie.

"Hey Becks, Maggie." Carrie said.

"Becky this is Sara. Sara, Becky." Emily made introductions as they all bustled around making sure that everything was prepared for dinner. They'd all brought something to help contribute but there were other things that needed a little prep work that Jillian and Bill were supply.

"Nice to meet you." Becky said

"You too." Sara said. "Nice to see you again Maggie."

"Sara, we'll introduce you to the husbands and the kids later." Maggie told her.

"Sara already met Clint yesterday." Becky told her and pitched in. "Where's Leland and the kids Carrie?"

"Tom and Annabelle didn't want to get out of bed, but I told them they wouldn't get to eat dinner if they weren't here in about another fifteen minutes so they should be here soon." Carrie replied.

"Anyone spoken to Erin or Andy?" Emily asked.

"Jillian told Erin that she should come over around 12." Sara supplied still slightly in awe of how the sisters worked together.

"I'll call her and see if they want to come over now." Becky said grabbing the phone. "We might as well get things started."

"Sara can you grab me that bowl behind you?" Heather asked.

Sara handed it to her.

TBC


	65. Chapter 65

When Bill and Jillian found both of their sons and all their son-in-laws and all but their two oldest granddaughters and their youngest grandson running around the garden. Tables were being set up and the two grills had been fired up.

"I think they started the party without us." Bill commented.

"Stay out here with the boys and the kids, I'll go and see what they're doing to my kitchen."

Bill winked at her.

"Hey kids." Bill said when he walked over.

"Grandpa." Lily and Matthew ran over first to see their grandfather, the other kids followed.

"Started without me?" He said.

"We thought we'd get things set up Bill." Leland told him.

"Grandpa!" Matthew tugged on his pants. "Up."

"Up." Bill picked him up. "Yes sir."

CSI

"Hello girls." Jillian said when she walked into the kitchen where the women in her family were busy at work.

She received a few hey mom's, hey grandma and a couple hey Jillian's.

"You all look busy." She commented.

"We thought we'd help out." Becky said. "Everything is almost ready."

"And we've been enlightening Sara to a few tales about Nick." Maggie added.

"By the way Mom where are Nick's baby pictures we wanted to show Sara." Carrie asked.

"Let me think." Jillian sat down. "I know your boxes are in the attic, and the kids books are on the shelf in the study." She thought for a moment. "I think they're in the hutch in the dinning room. I'll find them out later."

"Thanks." Sara said.

"So Sara, you've met all my daughters. Have you met everyone else too?"

"Not yet." Sara replied.

"She still has to meet Andy, Leland, Gib and some of the kids." Becky told her mother.

The timer went off.

"Rolls are done." Heather said grabbing the oven gloves.

"So what were you telling Sara about?"

"Uncle Nicky in a tutu." Lara-Jo supplied.

"I'd forgotten about that."

"I still can't believe we talked him into it." Erin said.

"As I recall it was the bag of sweets that tipped it over the edge." Emily pointed out.

"He was only four." Heather reminded them.

"And pretty gullible." Cassie said.

"Or that Andy found that camera and took pictures." Becky added.

"It sounds like you all had fun growing up." Sara commented.

"It was great. We had a big brother to look out for us and little brother to tease." Maggie said.

"The best of both worlds." Heather added.

"They didn't spend their whole time teasing him." Jillian assured Sara.

"We taught him how to play softball." Cassie said. "Emily has a pretty mean pitching arm."

"And made him learn Spanish with us." Becky added.

"Still comes in useful." Sara said.

"Always does when you least expect it." Emily said.

"Beats Latin." Heather rolled her eyes.

"Andy still recites Latin conjugates under his breath when he's nervous." Erin said.

"It beats him rehearsing what he wanted to say over and over again in front of the mirror." Becky pointed out.

"Or that fact that he passed out on the waiting room floor when Lara-Jo was born." Heather added.

"Dad passed out?" Stacey was stunned.

"So they tell me." Erin said.

"Where do you think he got the scar on his forehead from?" Maggie asked.

"He had six stitches." Emily added.

"Then complained that it was really painful." Heather said.

"And I had to suggest he try childbirth and then tell me it hurt." Erin stated.

"So Sara do you still want to marry into this crazy family?" Becky asked.

"I haven't changed my mind yet."

TBC


	66. Chapter 66

"The grills are ready when you are." Nick announced when he walked into the kitchen.

"Hold your horses twinkle toes." Becky said.

"Yeah, Uncle Nicky don't get your tutu in a twist." Stacey added.

"Okay what exactly have they been telling you Sara?" He asked.

"Things Greg and Warrick would kill to find out." She replied with a smile.

"Mom!" Nick groaned.

"Nick you're an adult. Grow up." Carrie suggested.

"Your sister is right." Jillian agreed.

"Nick why don't you introduce me to the rest of your family." Sara suggested to get him out of there before he got eaten alive.

"Sure." Nick replied.

"Tell your father we'll be out in a few minutes." Jillian told him.

"Sure Mom."

'

"What have they been telling you?" Nick asked once they were outside.

"Andrew passed out when Lara-Jo was born and needed six stitches." Sara supplied.

"I'd forgotten about that." Nick sighed. "What else?"

"Your sisters taught you how to play softball."

"And hit me on the head several times with the ball so I got concussion once."

"Poor baby." Sara said with a smile.

"But I'm guessing there was something else."

"Oh there were several things else. Including the time you dressed up as a ballerina."

"I'm going to kill them." Nick muttered under his breath.

"Probably not a good idea with your family." Sara told him.

"Sara." Louise said spotting her and running up to her.

"Hey Louise." Sara picked her up. "Having fun?"

"Unca Andy fell over the football." Louise told her.

"Did he hurt himself?" Sara inquired. Louise shook her head. "That's good."

"Shall we go and introduce Sara to everyone else?" Nick asked Louise.

She nodded.

Sara and Nick walked over to where the adults were catching their breath. Sara noted that they all conformed to the Texan cowboy stereotype of dress despite their jobs.

"Guys this is Sara." Nick said. "Sara, this is my brother Andy, and my brothers-in-law Leland, Clint who you already met, and Gibson."

"Nick to meet you Sara." Andy said.

"It's nice to meet you all too."

"Sorry I'm late." A male voice said from behind her. "Had to finish up some paperwork."

"And that's Bobby." Nick added.

"Hi you must be Sara." Bobby said.

"That would be me."

"Daddy!" Justin and Robbie ran over to greet their father.

"Hey boys. Having fun with your cousins?"

"Yes." The both said together.

"That's good."

"Sara come and play with us." Justin asked.

"Okay?" Sara said hesitantly.

"Down." Louise requested. Sara set her on the floor and followed the kids over to where the others were playing.

Carrie and Leland's eldest daughter 12 year-old Zoe introduced her 9 year old sister Annabelle, and her 7 year old brother Tommy. Becky and Clint's two daughters 10 year old Grace and 9 year old Amy introduced themselves. Maggie and Gibson's five year old daughter Lily was a little shy but 3 year old Matthew told Sara her name.

Nick smile as they dragged her into a game.

"It seems she has the kids' approval." Andy said.

"She's not used to being around kids." Nick remarked.

"She's handling it okay so far." Clint stated.

"I guess she doesn't come from a big family then." Gibson said.

"No." Nick replied. "Her father is dead, and she's lost contact with her brother when she was put in foster care. Don't ask about it it's still a touchy subject."

"She'll fit in just fine." Bill stated.

TBC


	67. Chapter 67

"I guess Sara met the kids." Carrie said when the women started bringing out the food. 

"They approve." Her husband told her.

"Why wouldn't they?" Jillian asked. "Why don't you all take the kids and get them washed up, and we'll put everything on the grills and you can come and take over when you get back."

One thing Jillian had learnt in 45 years of marriage, never to come between a man and his grill.

"Kids, time to wash up." Andy announced.

There was a flurry of activity as the father heard the kids inside.

"Having fun?" Nick asked when he walked over to where Sara was sat on the ground.

"Those kids have a lot of energy."

"Of course they do, most of them are under ten."

"You definitely have good genes."

"You don't look too bad in yours either darlin'." He winked at her.

"Idiot." Sara rolled her eyes.

"We need to go and wash up." Nick held out his hands to help her up.

"Thanks." Sara dusted off her butt.

"You might have to queue." Nick told her.

"I don't mind."

* * *

When got outside after finally finding a sink to wash their hands at, everyone had already grabbed a plate. The mom's were dishing out food that didn't need to be cooked. One of the grills contained meat and the other vegetables.

Sara stopped and took it all in.

"You okay?" Nick asked.

"You have a great family." She told him.

"They're your family too now." Nick told her. "Grab a plate; we all have big appetites, so food tends to disappear very quickly."

"Right."

Sara made small talk with most of the family while they ate; they recalled stories and family memories to share with her.

Once they were done eating they started to collect all the plates together.

"Sara." One of the girls came over to her.

"Amy right?" Sara guessed. She nodded. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you want to be on my team?"

"Your team?" Sara questioned.

"For the softball game." Amy explained. "We always play after a picnic."

"Honey, Sara doesn't know about all our family traditions yet." Becky told her daughter. "She might not even know how to play softball."

"But it's easy." Amy said.

"Why don't you ask her if she knows how to play first and then if she wants to play." Becky suggested.

"Do you know how to play softball?" Amy asked.

"Just about, I'm not very good."

"Nor is Dad." Amy said.

"Don't mention that to your father." Becky told her.

"Do you want to play?"

"Sure." Sara agreed.

"What's going on?" Nick asked walking over.

"I'm being drafted." Sara told him.

"For what?"

"Softball." Amy told him. "She's going to be on my team."

"Oh really."

"Who else is playing?" Sara asked.

"It's usually Stokes vs. husbands, wives, fiancée's. Then we split the kids who are old enough to play down the middle. Mom and Dad referee." Becky explained. "Why do you think we taught Nick how to play?"

"Okay." Sara agreed.

"You know I'm better than you now." Nick pointed out.

"No you're better at football, which is why we don't play tag football especially since some of the kids are too little. Softball is easier." Becky corrected. "Honey, we'll play in a little while we just have to tidy up first."

"Okay Mom." Amy ran off to tell her cousins.

TBC


	68. Chapter 68

They split into two teams.

On team one – Andy, Carrie, Becky, Emily, Heather, Maggie, Nick, Grace, Stacey, Zoe, Lily, Justin and Louise.

On the other team – Erin, Leland, Clint, Jack, Bobby, Gibson, Sara, Amy, Lara-Jo, Annabelle, Tom, Robbie and Matthew.

"Batter up." Clint said.

Grace was the first up at bat.

With the adults at on the bases, and the kids and the remaining adults were fielding.

"You ready Gracie?" Bobby who was pitching asked.

"Bring it on Uncle Bobby."

Bobby pitched the ball, and it sailed into the hands of Jack who was playing catcher.

"Strike one." Jack announced

"Remember to keep your eye on the ball." Nick called to her.

"Uncle Nick, I play third base on my school softball team." Grace reminded him. "I know what I'm doing."

"Sorry." Nick held up his hands. "Since when has she been on the softball team." He whispered to Becky.

"Since the beginning of the season." Becky replied. "She's scored three home runs."

Bobby threw the ball again, this time Grace made contact and set it flying into left field.

Robbie ran after the ball and threw it to Lara-Jo who threw it to her mom who was on second base.

Zoe, Maggie, Carrie and Justin all managed to get to at least first base on their turns at bat.

Then it was Nick's turn.

"Hey Bobby wait a second." Sara ran over and whispered something to him.

"Oh really." Bobby smiled.

Sara nodded and ran back to her position in the outfield.

Nick wondered what Sara had told Bobby. It wasn't until he pitched that Warrick had shared Nick's problems with a certain kind of pitch with Sara, which she had told Bobby.

Nick was at two strikes.

He managed to hit the third pitch.

"I've got it." Sara ran after the ball. She managed to catch it and fall on her butt, but she still held on to it.

"You're out." Jack told him.

A round of "Whooh." and "Go Sara."'s came from Nick's brother-in-laws.

Matthew ran over to Sara as fast as his little legs could carry him.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine Matthew." Sara told him. "Do you want to take this to your Uncle Bobby?" She held the ball out to him.

"Okay."

Sara got to her feet and dusted herself off and got back in the game.

Considering how many of them there were playing they always played one inning. Everyone got a chance to bat and the team with the most runs won.

Sara's homerun when it was her turn to bat meant her team won.

"So your team won." Nick said when he walked over to Sara.

"It would seem that way." Sara stuffed her hands in her back pockets.

"Did you have fun?"

"Of course. This is definitely a good tradition."

"And it helps burn off a lot of calories from what we ate."

"That too." Sara smiled. "And it also means that your team has to do the dishes or so I'm been informed."

"They have a dishwasher." Nick pointed out.

"But I don't think it fits 28 place settings."

"I know." He paused. "So I guess you've been talking to Warrick."

"I talk to Warrick most days, you're going to have to be a little more specific."

"About my baseball swing."

"He may have mentioned something about one of your trips to the batting cages."

"It was a nice catch and home run."

"Thank you." Sara said. "Don't you have some dishes to do?"

"And what are you going to do?" Nick inquired.

"Talk to Erin and your mom." Sara replied.

TBC

A/N: I have no idea how to play softball; I'm figuring it's something like baseball or rounders. Sorry if I'm wrong.


	69. Chapter 69

"Having fun?" Jillian asked when Sara came and sat down next to her.

"Yes."

"You look slightly pink."

"That's just from playing softball." Sara said. "That's a good tradition."

"Originally it was just to tire the kids out after we had a cook out. But it turned into a family tradition."

"We've been playing softball for as long as I can remember." Erin said.

"You never had any family traditions?" Jillian inquired.

"No." Sara replied.

"That's a shame."

"You'll probably find out eventually so I may as well tell you."

"Tell us what?" Erin inquired.

"My parents used to be hippies and owned a bed and breakfast. When I was about one my father started drinking heavily, he was abusive. One day my mom couldn't take it anymore and stabbed him to death. That was nineteen years ago, she's doing twenty-five to life. My brother and I got sent to separate foster homes. I lost contact with him. I got a scholarship to Harvard which is how I could afford it."

"That's terrible." Jillian said.

"It was a long time ago." Sara replied. "It's also why I don't have any family."

"You can be a part of ours." Jillian told her.

"We have more than enough to go around." Erin added.

"Thanks." Sara smiled.

"Does Nick know about this?" Jillian inquired.

"Yes. He knows everything." Sara confirmed.

"Good."

"Sara." Matthew ran over to her with a book.

"Hey Matthew." She picked him up and sat him on her knee. "What have got there?"

"Read." He handed her the book.

"You want me to read to you?" Sara questioned. Matthew nodded. "How about we go over there and sit under the tree?" Sara suggested.

"Okay." Matthew agreed.

"Excuse us; we're going to read a book." Sara told Erin and Jillian.

"Have fun." Erin told her.

"So what do you think?" Jillian asked when Sara was out of earshot.

"I like her." Erin replied. "She makes Nick happy. I haven't seen him smile this much in a long time."

"Just what I was thinking." Jillian agreed with her.

"And she's not a stripper."

"I knew he was more sensible than that."

"A few more people want to hear the story." Erin nodded in Sara's direction where some of the other younger kids had gathered around.

CSI CSI

"So let's have it." Nick said while he and his brother and sisters were sorting out the dishes inside.

"Have what?" Carrie asked.

"You all have opinions on everything. What's the verdict on Sara?"

"She can play softball." Andy stated.

"She's great with the kids." Maggie remarked.

"She didn't run scared when we told her the stories about you." Becky pointed out.

"She was willing to pitch in and help." Heather added.

"She has some decent stories on you too." Emily continued.

"And Carrie?" Nick shrugged.

"We like her." She shrugged. "She'll fit in just fine."

"But you didn't need our approval." Becky said.

"But it's nice to have it."

"We only have one complaint." Andy told him.

"What's that?" Nick asked.

"She's not Texan."

"Nor is Jack." Emily pointed out.

"But he's lived here long enough.

"He still supports the Bears rather than the Cowboys." Nick told them.

"Sacrilege." Carrie rolled her eyes.

TBC 


	70. Chapter 70

"I'm exhausted." Sara said as she crawled into bed.

"Well running around with the kids will do that." Nick climbed in next to her. "But you can sleep in. I want to show you some of Dallas before we have to go back to Vegas."

"I'd like that." Sara agreed yawning.

"Go to sleep." Nick told her. "And I'll take you to the Aquarium."

"The Aquarium?"

"Either that or the zoo."

"The zoo."

"It's Dallas, you have to go to the zoo or the Aquarium and if you're really good I'll take you to the Science Place."

"Science Place?" Sara questioned.

"Science museum, they have all those hands on science experiments for kids."

"You just want to play with lightning ball." Sara accused.

"But they're so cool."

"Find thirty bucks and buy one on e-bay." Sara told him.

"Seriously?"

"Just don't buy a disco ball or I'll start worrying you're spending too much time with Greg." She yawned.

"Go to sleep." He kissed her.

"Goodnight."

CSI

"Morning Mom." Nick walked into the kitchen. Bill had already left to catch his flight to Austin for the week; they had said their goodbyes before they went to bed.

"Nicholas. I thought you'd still be in bed." Jillian said as stuffed a file into her bag.

"I had enough sleep. I'm sure how long Sara is going to sleep for, running around with the kids exhausted her."

"You get used to it." Jillian stated. "I've got to leave in five minutes. The house keys and the keys to your father's truck are on the table. I should be home by 6.30 at the latest depending on how things go."

"We can fend for ourselves."

"Do you have plans for today?" Jillian inquired.

"I thought I'd take her to see some of the sights of Dallas. Maybe the aquarium or the zoo and the science museum."

"I'm sure she'll enjoy that."

"I hope so."

"Oh I almost forgot." Jillian walked over to the Welsh dresser in her kitchen and reached behind on of the plates and handed Nick the envelope she had extracted from behind it.

"What's this?"

"Your father was given them by a colleague who can't use them. Since he's going to be in Austin he thought you'd like them although I'm not quite sure how Sara will feel about it."

Nick opened he envelope inside were to tickets to that nights Cowboys game.

"Cowboys tickets." His face lit up. "I haven't been to a game for a long time."

"I know. If you don't want to go try your brother or sisters."

"I want the tickets."

"Good, I have to leave now. Hopefully I'll see you before have to leave."

"Thanks Mom. Have a good day."

"You too."

CSI

"Sara." Nick gently stroked her face.

"Mmmm." Sara mumbled. "You better have a good reason for waking me up Stokes."

"I brought you breakfast in bed."

"That'll work." Sara opened her eyes as Nick kissed her. "Morning."

"Morning."

"Your parents left?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Mom left us the keys to Dad's truck. So you just need to pick whether you want to go to the zoo or the aquarium. But just so you know the aquarium has penguins."

"Penguins in the middle of Texas?" Sara questioned.

"Yes."

"That I have to see."

"Aquarium it is. By the way Mom gave us these." He handed her the tickets.

"Cowboys tickets?"

"Want to come to the game with me tonight?" He inquired.

"You know how bad my knowledge of football is."

"I know, but at least you'll be able to say you went to a game which will annoy certain people back in Vegas."

"Only if you take me to the Science museum." Sara said.

"Deal."

TBC


	71. Chapter 71

"So what did you think of the penguins?" Nick asked.

"They're cute." Sara smiled. "Still seems a little odd that they're in the middle of Texas."

"I don't think they'd do too well if you sent them back to Antarctica." Nick pointed out. "Besides most of those penguins were born right here in Texas. It would be a shame to kick out Texan citizens."

"When you put it like that." Sara smiled.

"Want to go and see some fish?" Nick suggested.

"Sure. You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"How often do we get to enjoy a day wandering around an aquarium or a science museum or go to a football game?"

"There is the Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage and the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay and the Yucca Mountain Science Center and I'm pretty certain there are even some minor league sports teams."

"But when do we get time to do any of those things?"

"That's because of the number of Las Vegas residents and tourist who die and needs us to investigate. When you work sixteen hour days a few times a week you tend to put them off and sleep when you're not working."

"Or a few other things."

"Or a few other things." Sara agreed. "Didn't you mention fish?"

"This way."

CSI CSI

"That was fun." Sara said when they got back to the ranch after their trip the aquarium and the science museum.

"Of course it was, you were with me." Nick caught her around the waist.

"You definitely have a high opinion of yourself."

"But you love me anyway."

"But I love you anyway." Sara kissed him.

"I love you too."

"That's good otherwise I'd have to dump and find other cowboy to run off with. There's plenty to choose from around here."

"Promises promises." Nick teased.

"Looks like someone dropped something off." Sara pointed to the package that was on the doorstep.

Nick picked up the envelope on top of the package which bore his name.

I THOUGHT SARA COULD USE THIS TONIGT. IT'S A WELCOME TO THE FAMILY GIFT. LOVE MAGGIE XX

"What does your sister think I can use?" Sara asked reading over his shoulder.

"I have no idea. Why don't we take it inside and find out?"

"Okay." Nick grabbed the package and unlocked the door.

Once inside he dropped the package on the kitchen table and grabbed then both a bottle of water each from the refrigerator.

"Can I open it?" Sara asked.

"It's for you so go ahead."

Sara opened the brown paper. Inside lay a Dallas Cowboys jersey.

"I was wondering what you wore to a football game." Sara said.

"Flip it over to see what name is on the back." Nick told her.

Sara did as he suggested.

"S. Stokes." Nick read.

"That's a little premature." Sara said.

"We never really talked about setting a date."

"Just find out when we can get a least a week, maybe two off." Sara shrugged.

"You want that to be the criteria?" Nick questioned.

"I just need to buy a couple of dresses, we need rings. I presume you were going to ask Warrick to your best man, I'll talk to Catherine. Then we just need to invite whoever we like to one of the numerous wedding chapels in Vegas, one of the sensible ones."

"What and then go back to work?" Nick questioned.

"Sure why not. We'll do the proper wedding here when we can have the time off, it shouldn't be too hard to organise something."

"Don't worry Mom will co-ordinate everyone else the minute you give her a date."

"So we do it then go on honeymoon." Sara shrugged.

"How soon were you thinking?"

"Depends on how soon we can get time off." Sara replied. "In the next couple of months though."

"Sounds good to me."

"Good you can talk to Grissom when we get back." Sara winked at him.

TBC


	72. Chapter 72

"Hey Warrick." Sara said when she walked into the break room the following evening.

"Hey girl, you're back and early." Warrick smiled. "Where's Nick?"

"He was just finishing watching something. He'll be here later. I thought I'd come in and catch up on what I missed."

"How was Texas?" Warrick asked.

"Great. I went to a Cowboys game last night."

"Serious?"

"Serious."

"How'd you get tickets to a Cowboys game?"

"Friend of Nick's father." Sara replied. "It would have probably been better I understood the game more. But it was fun."

"Hey Sara." Catherine said walking in a few minutes later after Sara had finished the game. "How was Texas and meeting the family?"

"It actually went great." Sara said.

"Nick took her to a Cowboys game." Warrick told Catherine.

"Impressive. So what are Nick's family like?"

"Honestly I don't think you'd ever meet a group of people that big who are all on the right side of the law."

"Really?" Catherine asked.

"His brother Andy is a defence attorney, his wife Erin is a medical examiner and their eldest daughter wants to major in forensic anthropology."

"Impressive."

"Carrie is a DA, her husband works as a court bailiff, Becky is a forensic psychiatrist, her husband is a PI, Emily writes crime novels and her husband is an engineer at NASA. Heather is a school guidance counsellor, Bobby is with the FBI. Maggie works part-time in dispatch and Gibson is a cop."

"That is actually very impressive." Catherine said. "They could have a whole trial by themselves."

"Between them and the kids they have a pretty decent softball team too."

"Softball?" Warrick questioned.

"They have a family tradition of playing softball games after family cookouts. I even scored a homerun."

"Sounds like you had fun."

"They're a great bunch of people." Sara agreed pouring herself a cup of coffee. "I guess it's too much to hope Greg came in early and made coffee."

"What do you think?" Warrick asked.

"That I probably should have stopped for coffee on the way here."

"Did you get and decent stories out of them?"

"Even some I had to promise Nick I'd never mention."

"Now those are the ones we want to hear." Warrick said.

"I don't think so." Sara sipped her coffee then poured it down the sink. "And I'm making a fresh pot."

"Any that you can tell us?"

"Nick has a horse called Stardust he's a little protective of. Calls her his baby."

"I think that's just a Texan thing." Catherine said.

"You have to have something better than that."

"Well I do have pictures." Sara said.

"Pictures?" Catherine smiled. "We like photographic evidence."

"All supplied by his sister-in-law Erin."

"How many years of photographs can his sister-in-law have?" Warrick asked.

"This would be the sister-in-law who has been Nick's sister Carrie's best friend since they were five and who spent most of her time at the Stokes's house. The sister-in-law, who was there when he came home from the hospital, changed his diaper and was there when he took his first steps."

"That sounds like great qualifications." Catherine said.

"And makes for some very cute pictures." Sara paused. "Just don't tell Nick I have them and I'll bring them in tomorrow."

"Deal."

"You should see the kids they are cutest kids you ever saw. It's surprising how much they all look alike."

"Sounds like someone is getting broody." Warrick said.

"Not for a few years." Sara corrected. "I want to enjoy being married first."

"Did you ever set a date?" Catherine asked.

"We're having two weddings." Sara replied.

"Two?"

"If we got married here, it's going to be expensive to fly his whole family out and if we got married in Texas you guys won't all be able to get time off to come so we thought we'd have two." Sara shrugged then explained the plan.

TBC


	73. Chapter 73

"Hey Nick. Welcome back. How was Texas?" Greg greeted him as they walked in together.

"It was great to be home again." Nick replied.

"Your family like Sara?"

"Yes." Nick replied. "They loved her."

"That's good."

"And the Cowboys won yesterday." Nick added.

"I caught some of the highlights on TV."

"We were actually there."

"You took Sara to a Cowboys game?"

"Yes. We had pretty decent seats too."

"Does Sara even like football?" Greg asked.

"She made it through the game unscathed." Nick said.

"I have one other question and this one is really important."

"What's that?"

"Are the cheerleaders as hot in person as they are on TV?" Greg inquired.

"I probably shouldn't answer that." Nick replied as they walked into the break room.

"Shouldn't answer what?" Sara asked.

"Never mind." Nick replied.

"I was just asking about the Cowboys cheerleaders." Greg explained.

"I'm sure he'll tell you later." Sara replied.

"Good you're all here." Grissom said walking in. "Nick, Sara welcome back. Nick, Warrick db at the New York- New York. Guy gasped for air and then died at the high stakes Craps table." Grissom handed off the slip. "Sara, Catherine you're with me, guy walked into the Oyster bar at the Stratosphere bleeding from a stab wound and then shot three off the customers. Two are going to pull through. The shooter and a mother of two dead."

"A nice welcome home." Catherine said.

"What about me?" Greg inquired.

"Mia has a bad case of food poisoning, I need you to stay and take-over DNA tonight, we'll find someone to cover for her tomorrow."

"DNA?"

"Greg we can't get anyone else to cover on short notice, and you're the most qualified. It will just be for tonight." Grissom stated.

"Fine." Greg conceded.

"Tough luck Sanders." Nick said. "Warrick, let's go."

"Right behind you."

"Have a nice night Greg." Catherine said. "I'm sure we'll be seeing you later."

"Bye Greg." Sara added and followed Catherine out.

"This is just great." Greg muttered under his breath and he walked towards DNA.

"Did you say something?" Archie asked.

"I just get stuck in DNA all night."

"Yeah Mia got food poisoning. She came in early and was throwing up. It wasn't pretty."

"I know she didn't get sick on purpose but I'm a CSI I'm supposed to be out in the field not stuck in the lab."

"Look at it this way. It's generally safer in here than it is out on the streets."

"Do you remember the time the lab blew up?" Greg asked. "I remember that vividly."

"Just check that they haven't put anything that shouldn't be in there in there and you'll be fine." He paused. "Are Nick and Sara back yet?"

"Yes. He took her to a Cowboys last night."

"Did he mention whether the cheerleaders were as hot in real life?" Archie asked.

"Sara was there so he couldn't say." Greg replied.

"Let me know if you find out, I should get back to A/V."

"I'll see you later."

Greg continued on to DNA, to find the dayshift DNA tech there.

"Hey Zach."

"Greg."

"You can't work tonight?"

"I've already pulled a double." Zach said. "Mia and I are supposed to work half the swing shift, since Barry is out vacation. Since she was sick, I stayed but I have to get home. I'm back here in eight hours."

"Fine. What's left to do?" Greg asked.

"That's the evidence that needs DNA testing left over from swing. There was a backlog from day shift which I spent most of the time doing."

"I've got it here." Greg told him.

"See you in 8 hours." Zach left him too it.

TBC


	74. Chapter 74

"So your family liked Sara?" Warrick said as they drove to the casino.

"They loved, my sister's and my brother only had one complaint."

"What was that?"

"She's not Texan." Nick replied.

"She can't do much about that." Warrick stated. "Isn't one of your brother-in-laws from Chicago anyway?"

"That was Emily's argument too." Nick shrugged. "They like her; they were all expecting me to marry a stripper anyway."

"A stripper? In Las Vegas you'd have more luck with a show girl there's more of them." Warrick remarked.

"The odds were on it."

"Marrying a stripper is more Greg's style anyway."

"My brothers-in-law think she's great because she helped their team win the softball game, especially since she scored a home run."

"From what Sara said she caught you out too." Warrick remarked.

"She mentioned that did she?"

"Amongst other things. It seems your sisters are more than happy to tell tales about you."

"They always were and they kicked me out so they could gossip too."

"I guess that's the downside of coming from a big family."

"There's the reverse I know all their stories too." Nick pointed out.

"But if you tell us those we aren't going to spread them around the lab since no-one knows them."

"True." Nick sighed.

"What did your nieces and nephews think?"

"Stacey thinks Sara's great because she managed to explain to her how to do her physics homework without putting her to sleep. The littler ones loved that she played with them, and read them a story."

"Sara and kids, it's not usually a combination you'd think would work."

"She was great with them. Matthew thought it was funny when she landed on her butt, before he got worried about her and went to check on her."

"How old is Matthew?"

"Three." Nick replied. "We get kids started on softball early in our family."

CSI CSI

"So do you have any ideas what kind of dress you want?" Catherine asked Sara as they rode to the crime scene. Grissom was taking his own vehicle.

"Something without enough fabric to cover the strip." Sara replied.

"I think they did a dress similar to the one you wore to your engagement party in which, just with a little more fabric."

"That would probably work for getting married here."

"Something slightly more formal for Texas?" Catherine guessed.

"And longer." Sara added.

"Just let me know when you want to go shopping."

"I will." Sara said as they pulled up.

They flashed their ID on the way in.

"Today certainly wasn't a good day to get Oysters." Catherine said as they surveyed the scene.

"Ladies." Brass said coming over. "Sara did you have a nice vacation?"

"Yes thank you." Sara replied. "What've we got?"

"We still haven't go an ID on our shooter yet, but he was dead when then the EMT's got here, he bled out. Brass pointed to the body on the floor. "The woman in the booth is Mariska Leonard. 33, two kids both under three, she runs a day-care centre. The other two James Newton, 25, blackjack dealer in the casino and was on a break, and the other his girlfriend Julie Paulo 24, she's a bartender here. Hospital thinks that they're both going to make it, although they'll need surgery to retrieve the bullets which we'll get sent over to the lab. They were sitting at the table behind Mariska Leonard."

"You thinking Mariska was the target and the others were collateral damage or the other way around?" Sara inquired.

"Witnesses couldn't tell, the shooter just burst in bleeding and shot of the rounds without saying anything and then hit the deck. I've already secured the surveillance tapes. David's on his way."

"So is Grissom." Catherine added.

"I'll take the tables." Sara stated.

"I'll take the shooter." Catherine said. "We'll get the lasers out to check the trajectories later."

"Sounds good." Sara agreed.

TBC


	75. Chapter 75

Grissom arrived after David had almost finished.

"You took your time getting here." Catherine commented.

"Ecklie wanted to discuss a staffing issue." Grissom replied. "What have we got?"

Catherine explained.

"…Sara's trying to figure out who our shooter was aiming at."

"Anyone know who stabbed the shooter?" Grissom inquired.

"No but I thought I'd work that end of the case."

"I'll check in with Sara." Grissom stated.

"I'll be here." Catherine said.

"Sara?" Grissom said when he reached.

"Hey Gris."

"What have you got?"

"Bullet six bullet holes. Only three actual bullets."

"She had a through and through, I'm guessing it hit her aorta. She would have died instantly." David added.

"Brass said that there were bullets still the vics at the hospital." Sara added.

"Catherine is figure out who stabbed the shooter."

"Works for me." Sara said.

Grissom's cell phone.

"Excuse me."

Grissom stepped away to answer his phone, when he finished.

"I'm going to have to leave you too it. Hit and run." Grissom replied.

"I think Catherine and I can handle it." Sara stated.

"Let me know."

CSI CSI

"Hey Greg, brought you some coffee." Warrick stated.

"Thanks." Greg replied suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because you're stuck here?" Warrick told him.

"Okay."

"How's it going?"

"I've caught up on what was left over from swing shift." Greg replied. "How's your case going?"

"Allergic reaction to ginger."

"Ginger?" Greg questioned.

"Guy orders an 1940's Country Club cooler." Warrick explained.

"What?"

"Grenadine, carbonated water and French vermouth. Mix it, pour it over cracked ice then fill it up with carbonated water or ginger ale."

"Why would he order one if he was allergic to ginger?"

"I guess he presumed it was going to be all carbonated water." Warrick shrugged. "Bartender had to look up the recipe since he never made one before."

"How did you find out he was allergic to ginger?" Greg asked.

"SOS bracelet. He was allergic to aspirin as well."

"PD sure it was an accident?"

"They're dealing with the aftermath, but our job is done. We answered all the questions." Warrick replied. "What PD about is up the DA's office."

"So you and Nick are just sitting around?"

"Nick's writing up our findings, and I'm bringing you coffee."

"Hey guys." Sara said walking in.

"Sara. How's your case going?"

"Well I have some work for you." Sara replied. "Shooter's blood sample, our three vics, two of who are in surgery, sample from the gun, and the three bullets I found, I need to know whose blood is on them and then they need to go to Bobby."

"No problem." Greg told her.

"You had DNA samples in your case?" Sara asked Warrick.

"No we wrapped it up, he was allergic to ginger and order a drink that got made with ginger ale. I'm just bringing my man Greg here some coffee."

"I've got to go and see Doc Robins, and then Archie. So enjoy your easy night."

"We will." Warrick said.

"Hey Warrick." Sara said when she was halfway out the door.

"Yes?"

"You might want to check on Grissom, he got called away to a hit and run. He might need some help."

TBC


	76. Chapter 76

"Hey Nick." Warrick said when he walked into the break room.

"Hey man."

"Are you okay finishing that up if I go and help Grissom?"

"I thought he was working that shooting with Catherine and Sara."

"He got called away to a hit and run; he needs an extra set of eyes. Sara's back and around by the way."

"I can handle this. Let me know if you need any help."

"Okay man."

CSI

"Can you run that back?" Sara asked Archie.

"Sure." Archie ran back the tape.

"It's a bad angle. Can you zoom in?"

"Let me see what I can do."

Sara rubbed her neck.

"Sore neck?" Archie asked.

"I fell asleep on the plane; I must have slept on it funny."

"When exactly did you get back?"

"Three. I just have to get back to a pattern of sleeping days and being awake all night."

"Good luck with that." Archie said.

"Play that again."

Archie did as she asked.

"I don't think you're going to get an angle that tells you who he was aiming at."

"I have bullet marks and laser guides. If I got a 3D view do you think you could build me a virtual reconstruction?"

"You don't need to get me one, I can pull up the floor plans and the Stratosphere website has a virtual tour it may take a little time to put together."

"Take all the time you need. I'll get you the crime scene photographs."

"That would help."

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Sara said. "Thanks Archie."

"It's only going to be a simplified version, since it won't be need for anything else since the guy is dead."

"I just need to figure out the truth. That woman's kids deserved to know what happened to their mother and why. They need to know."

"Even if she was collateral damage?" Archie asked.

"Especially if she was collateral damage. The truth won't bring her back, but it will help them sleep better at night eventually. I'll bring you those photographs and the sketches."

"Thank you."

C

"Sara." Nick called as he saw her walk past.

"Hey. You landed the easy one tonight I hear."

"Severe ginger allergy from ginger ale is a new one on me." Nick said.

"People are allergic to a lot more things theses day." Sara pointed out.

"How's your case coming?"

"I'm still trying to figure who of the three he was aiming at. Surveillance cameras are at the wrong angle to tell. So Archie is piecing together a virtual reconstruction, so hopefully we'll be able to answer that question."

"You're going to be pulling double aren't you?"

"I'm sorry." She apologised.

"Sara, I knew your work ethic going into this, if you need to pull a double pull a double. I'll be there when you get home."

"I know. I have to get back to work, I have to go and see Greg and Bobby D and talk to Catherine to see if she identified the shooter yet, I'm going to be running around all night."

"Yell if you need me." Nick offered.

"Thanks, I've got to go."

"Hey Sara."

"Yes?"

"Take a break somewhere in between the running around."

"When I have time." Sara turned and left.

Nick when back to finishing up his report.

TBC


	77. Chapter 77

"There you are Sara." Catherine said when she found her.

"Hey Cath." Sara looked up.

"Do you have any idea who the target was yet?"

"The surveillance cameras didn't get much, they were at the wrong angle. So Archie is building me a virtual reconstruction. Putting everything together. We'll see what we get from that. I've been looking at the backgrounds Brass pulled together, but I'm think it was something to do with the Blackjack dealer. Have you got a name on the shooter?"

"Lionel Judas, from St John's Canada. He was jailed for committing fraud to fund a gambling debt."

"Let me guess he was playing Blackjack last night."

"Not as far as I know. I checked the surveillance cameras, he walked in with his hand over his wound and went straight to the oyster bar and started shooting."

"But he could have been in earlier."

"He's been running up debts at some of the other casinos in town but not the Stratosphere."

"There goes my motive." Sara said.

"I'll get the surveillance footage for the Blackjack table for the night."

"He only started work at 9; one of the other dealers went home sick." Sara pointed out.

"The shooter had to know where he was if he was the target."

"But since he went directly to the oyster bar, someone had to tell the shooter when the blackjack dealer was taking a break and where."

"What was the mom doing there late at night?"

"She went out for a night out with a friend; she'd gone downstairs to use the courtesy phone to call a guy she'd met who was staying at the hotel. Brass talked her she'd gone to see the guy in his room."

"So left the Mom alone and she ends up dead?"

"Yes."

"Maybe there was a hit on the Mom and the night out and the guy was an excuse."

"The shooter had gambling debts, so you're thinking someone paid him to take her out?" Sara questioned.

"It's possible." Catherine guessed.

"I'll look into it."

"I'm still working on who stabbed my guy and why, but you look like you could use some help."

"I'll call Nick he offered."

"I thought they had that case at the New York, New York." Catherine said.

"Guy ordered a drink that ended up being made with ginger ale, but he had a severe ginger allergy. Throat swells up; he chokes right on the craps table."

"That's interesting, haven't heard of a ginger allergy before."

"Neither had I. Warrick went to help Grissom with the hit and run." Sara explained.

"Get Nick to help, I'll let you know if I find out any more." Catherine told her.

"I will."

TBC

A/N: I know it's really short, but I'm coming down with something and don't feel up to writing anymore today.


	78. Chapter 78

A/N: There won't be another post until Saturday 14th or before if I'm feeling better. I've got a bug and writing five fan fics at the same time is getting to me so I'm taking a break on this one for a few days after this post.

"There you are." Sara said when she walked into DNA.

"I've been here all night." Greg replied.

"Not you, him." She nodded in Nick's direction.

"You need me?" Nick asked.

"You've been drafted to help out with my case." Sara replied.

"I was just going to page you with your results." Greg told her.

"And?"

"All the bullets had a single sample of blood on. Two were your dead mom and one the blackjack dealer."

"Did you send them to Bobby?" Sara inquired.

"Of course."

"Then I guess that's my next stop." Sara stated. "Thanks Greg."

"What exactly do you need help with?" Nick asked as he followed her out.

"I have three potential targets and since my suspect is dead. I'm still trying to figure out."

"Tell me what you have so far."

"The Mom, she worked day-care, two kids under three, she was on a night out with a friend who met a guy who was staying at the hotel so she went to use the curiosity phone to call him and then went to his room."

"Leaving her alone to wait in the restaurant where she got shot."

"Catherine hypothesised perhaps it was a hit on her and the friend just conveniently disappeared."

"What about the other two?"

"Blackjack dealer, came in on his night off to cover since someone had gone home sick."

"Pissed off gambler?" Nick guessed.

"Possibly. He was meeting his girlfriend the bartender on a break."

"So jealous ex etc…"

"A wealth of motive and no clue which one is accurate." Sara sighed.

"He couldn't have just shot randomly?" Nick asked.

"There were other were other people on the other side of the restaurant, you can't tell who specifically he was aiming at but he was aiming at that group. The target was one of them and he shot of a whole clip in their direction."

"What do you know about the shooter?" Nick inquired.

"Catherine said his name was Lionel Judas from somewhere in Canada, did time for raising money to fund his gambling problem the illegal way."

"I guess GA meeting weren't on his cards."

"He had racked up markers all over town but not at Stratosphere." Sara added.

"Interesting."

"Catherine's still working on who stabbed him and why."

"If he had debts all over town the list of people he pissed off would be long and varied."

"I just need you to help me figure out who and why."

"I think I can manage that." Nick replied.

"Might involve working a double." Sara pointed out.

"I have plenty of overtime left this month." Nick winked at her. "After you." Nick said when they reached firearms.

"Hey Bobby."

"Sara, Nick, have a nice vacation?" Bobby inquired.

"Yes thank you." Sara replied. "Do you have anything for me yet?"

"All the bullets you had Greg send over match the gun Catherine dropped off. I'm still running it through the databases. I'll page you if I get a match."

"Thanks Bobby." Nick replied.

"Hey Nick the cheerleaders?" Bobby said.

"I'm going to see Archie, catch up when you're done with the guy talk." Sara told Nick.

TBC


	79. Chapter 79

"Let's try this logically." Nick said.

"Define logically." Sara rubbed her eyes.

"Let's write down what we know, and possible motives for wanting them dead, we can cross them off as we disprove them or add to them when we get more information."

"Okay."

Nick grabbed one of the clear board and a pen. He split it into three, then grabbed a picture of each of the victims and stuck one in each section.

"Give me the details." Nick told her.

"The mom, Mariska Leonard, 33, DOB…" Sara continued to give him the details Brass had relayed to her.

* * *

**_Mariska Leonard :_ DOB : **09/22/72 (33)

**Occupation : **Daycare provider.

**Husband : **Daniel 46,

**Kids :**Lois 2, Liam 1

**Currently : **Deceased - Morgue (COD – Torn aorta from bullet)

**Reason for being there: **Night out with friend (Hannah Spears 31 – with hotel guest at time of incident.)

**Motives: **Hit – set up by friend / husband / or unknown

Disgruntled parent

Collateral damage?

* * *

"Does she have a life insurance policy?" Nick asked.

"Only for $250,000 which was taken out 7 years ago. The husband's is higher." Sara replied. "But no financial trouble, Brass has had people go over their financials."

"Let's try the blackjack dealer." Nick suggested.

* * *

**James Newton: DOB:** 03/17/80 (25)

**Occupation : **Blackjack dealer

**Girlfriend : **Julie Paulo (Other vic)

**Currently: **Desert Palm (shot twice)

**Reason for being there: **On break with girlfriend, called in to work asreplacement.

**Motives: **Disgruntled gambler

Disgruntled ex (his or hers)

Other disgruntled neighbour / friend / co-worker

Other

Collateral damage?

* * *

"Did he have a life insurance policy?" Nick asked.

"No. But unless you're married or have kids who really has a life insurance policy at 25?" Sara pointed out.

"I did. But I working with cops is slightly higher risk than being an accountant."

"I wouldn't say that in tax season." Sara smiled. "Who was the beneficiary?"

"Of my life insurance policy when I was 25?" Nick asked.

"Yes."

"My nieces and nephews, technically they still are."

"Oh."

"Don't worry I'll transfer it over, so you're the beneficiary."

"Don't." Sara replied.

"Excuse me?"

"Firstly I'd rather nothing happened to you that I'd even remotely need to cash the policy in for and secondly until a time that we have kids, the money should still go to your nieces and nephews."

"Sara if something happened I'd want to know you're okay."

"Nick, if something happened honestly I wouldn't care about the money, besides which I work long hours, I don't have that many expenses, my student loan was paid off before I moved here I have a decent savings account. I'll be fine. But maybe we should discuss this later."

"Okay." Nick agreed.

"Back to the bartender." Sara suggested.

"Back to the bartender."

* * *

**Julie Paulo :DOB :**09/30/81 (24)

**Occupation: **Bartender

**Boyfriend: **James Newton (other vic)

**Currently: **Desert Palm (shot 1)

**Reason for being there: **On break with boyfriend.

**Motives: **Disgruntled customer

Disgruntled ex (hers or his)

Disgruntled neighbour / friend / co-worker

Other

Collateral damage?

* * *

"And life insurance policy." Sara added.

"Are either of the two survivors in financial trouble?" Nick asked.

"Not according to what I have here." Sara replied as her pager bleep. "Bobby." She said checking it. "He's got something."

TBC


	80. Chapter 80

"Tell me you have some good news." Sara said when she walked into ballistics.

"Depends on what you call good news."

"Maybe you should just tell her and then she can tell you." Nick suggested.

"Are you always this hyper-logical after you've been around your family?" Sara asked.

"It's what you get for being around that many lawyers."

"There were only four if you include Bill."

"Bobby went to law school."

"No I didn't." Bobby said.

"Not you my brother-in-law Bobby, he's an FBI Agent."

"Guys do you want me to step out for a minute?" He inquired.

"No, just tell us what you found out." Sara told him.

"The gun matches to three homicides of drug dealers. One in Vegas last month. The others were in Utah and Colorado."

"Any suspects?" Sara inquired.

"No." Bobby replied.

"Killing dope dealers would be a way to amass some cash, living dope dealers if they were robbed they wouldn't report it since its illegal earnings." Nick pointed out.

"You think this is drug related?" Sara asked.

"It fits under the category of other on our motive chart."

"Yes."

"The shooter, he tries to rob a dope dealer, which backfires and he gets stabbed. He's pissed and tracks down the dope dealer and bang bang. You said yourself there wasn't enough blood at the crime scene for him to have died from bleeding out there. He could have been bleeding out for a few hours."

"It's a theory." Sara agreed. "Who is your dope dealer?"

"I doubt soccer mom. The bartender was at work from 6."

"The blackjack dealer." Sara crossed her arms.

"It was his night off; he wasn't supposed to be there."

"His financials don't show anything that would indicate that kind of money."

"Who says he keeps his money in a bank?" Nick shrugged.

"Run it by Brass and Catherine, see if they'll let you search his house. I'm going to see Archie, thanks Bobby."

"My pleasure." Bobby replied. "I don't think she's buying your dope dealer explanation." Bobby added after she had left.

"Considering the fact that other than two people in hospital and two dead, she really doesn't have a lot more to go on than supposition. It's a valid an explanation as anything else has and with three dead dope dealers killed with the same gun it has more to back it up than anything she has right now."

"But you're not going to mention that to her."

"No I want to live until tomorrow. Thanks Bobby."

CSI

"Hey Archie." Sara said when she walked into A/V.

"Slowly. I've got the scene set up, I'm just plugging in the bullet holes and ricochets and then I'll add the vics and the shooter.

"You didn't add them first?" Sara questioned.

"We know where the bullets ended up, and where they started, it's like your lasers, this should take another 45 minutes."

"Thanks Archie, do you want some coffee?" Sara offered.

"Coffee would be great." Archie agreed.

"I'll be back."

CSI

"Sara." Catherine said when she found her staring at the motive chart she and Nick had made. She'd added drugs to the list of motives.

"Hey Catherine."

"Did Nick tell you his drug theory?"

"He mentioned it." Sara replied.

"Doc Robbins said the shooter could have been bleeding out over several." Catherine informed her.

"I know I spoke to David."

"Brass managed to convince a judge to get a search warrant for the blackjack dealer's apartment."

"I'm waiting on Archie finishing my virtual reconstruction. We might have a better idea who he was aiming at."

TBC


	81. Chapter 81

"Hey Archie." Sara said when she walked back into A/V. "What have you got?"

"Did you come up with a motive?" Archie inquired.

"Nick's running with the idea that it's drug related. The gun killed three drug dealers."

"How does that relate to the shooter getting stabbed?" Archie asked.

"I don't want to influence your best guess at the intended victim." Sara replied. "Show me what you've got."

"I've input all the parameters, and here is a reconstruction as best as I can get it."

Sara watched on screen as the shooter walked in and fired off his gun.

"That's the angle of the surveillance camera; can you swing it around to the shooter's perspective?" She inquired.

Archie tapped the keyboard and the perspective changed. Archie ran the sequence again.

"And a 180."

"So does that answer your question?" Archie asked.

"Yes."

"And fit with Nick's theory?"

"Theories are great, but you need the evidence to back them up. Thanks Archie, keep this Nick and Catherine will want to see it."

"Sure." Archie agreed.

CSI CSI

Sara grabbed the evidence bags she needed took them into the layout room to process.

She carefully set about putting together the pieces of glass that had shattered when it had been hit with a bullet back together.

When she had it back together she managed to dust it and lift several prints which she ran through the computer. While the computer was working she processed some more evidence.

After finishing looking at her evidence and getting results from the computer, Sara had a few more answers, after glancing at her watch she knew she was into the second shift.

Sara continued putting the pieces together.

"Hey Sara." Greg said when he walked in room.

"Hey Greg. Done being a lab tech again?"

"Yes. How's the case coming?"

"Getting nearer to an answer." Sara replied.

"Got a reason for the shooting yet?"

Sara pushed her findings across the table.

"Nick's out with Brass processing."

"He sent a knife back and wanted me to run DNA on it and prints." Greg handed her the file.

"Let me practice my psychic abilities. The blood matches the shooter and the prints match the prints I have."

"You should have your own show. Motive?" Greg prompted.

"Shooter had a nice line in stealing from drug dealers and if they didn't cooperate they ended up dead."

"And knives make a very good defensive weapon just not against guns and the drug dealer decided to fight back."

"We end up with a very pissed off shooter who is bleeding to death." Sara stated.

"Who walks into the oyster bar at the Stratosphere and kills a woman and injures two other people including the person who stabbed him."

"That's what all the evidence points to and who Archie's computer simulation shows as the mostly likely target and the others were collateral damage."

"Why do I have to work DNA when we get interesting cases?"

"You could have ended up with the ginger guy or Grissom's hit and run."

"True." Greg conceded. "So what now?"

"Wait until Nick comes back with more evidence, get Brass to go and arrest the person who stabbed the shooter and call Catherine and tell her we solved her part of the case."

"How about coffee?" Greg suggested.

"Coffee would be great, throw out whatever days made."

"Blue Hawaiian it is." Greg agreed.

"You're going to have to tell us where you keep it one day."

"Not a chance." Greg replied. "I'll go and make the coffee."

"I'll call Catherine." Sara said.

TBC 


	82. Chapter 82

"Hey Sara, I've got something for to see."

"You think you've solved the case." Sara said.

"How did you know?"

"You know have a mom, five sisters, a sister-in-law and a plethora of nieces and other female relatives and you don't know women know everything." She paused. "Besides which Archie and I had already figured it out even before Greg came and gave me the results from the knife you sent back."

"So he did it."

"No." Sara crossed her arms.

"What? I just found a couple of kilos of cocaine at his apartment."

"Nick just out of curiosity if you went to your place and you didn't know us how exactly would you know what's yours if you got rid of all the stuff that could only be mine."

"So what you're saying is that it was hers?" Nick questioned.

"Come with me." Sara said climbed off the stool and headed for A/V. "Hey Gus." Archie had obviously gone home.

"Sara. Nick."

"Archie had a computer simulation set up for me."

"He told me all about it. Give me a second." He brought up the simulation.

"Can you run it from the shooter's perspective?" Sara asked.

"Sure." Gus agreed. He changed the perspective and ran it.

"I guess you didn't need my help after all." Nick said.

"Not true." Sara replied.

"What else do you have?"

"I ran her clothes there are traces of the drugs inside her pant legs and in the cuffs." Sara stated. "I also got a fingerprint from her glass, I ran it. It's not even her real name; it seems casinos issue non-gaming cards with less of a background check. She did three years for possession with intent to sell when she was eighteen."

"So the shooter goes to take her money after a transaction, she stabs him, hides the knife and the drugs goes to work. He's probably been following her to know when is the best time to get the drugs, so he goes to the Stratosphere and opens fire." Nick concluded.

"The fingerprints on the knife match hers and the blood is a positive match for the shooters and the knife is consistent with the one that caused the stab wound he received."

"So what now?"

"Brass and Catherine are on their way over to the hospital to arrest her. Thanks Gus."

"No problem."

"I need a copy of that saved we may need it later on."

"Not a problem." Gus told her.

"So that's where Brass disappeared to." Nick said.

"Yes." Sara nodded. "Do you know if you can charged with felony murder for something like this?"

"Felony murder?"

"She stabbed him, although she'll probably claim self-defence, which caused him to track her down killing a woman and injuring someone else."

"I honestly don't know. But they'll charge her with murder."

CSI CSI

"So I hear Sara has a suspect." Brass said when he found Catherine in the hallway of Desert Palms.

"She has the murder weapon and a motive."

"Explain it to me before we do this."

"The shooter Lionel Judas was in possession of a gun which killed three drug dealers who were robbed. Julie Paulo isn't Julie Paulo, Sara ran a fingerprint from her glass through AFIS and it comes back to Connie Petri. She was in jail for three years for possession with intent to distribute. Sara found traces of cocaine inside her work uniform and in the cuffs. She and Archie also pulled together a simulation of what happened give all the evidence and she was the intended target." Catherine added the rest of the scenario.

"She's been busy."

"With the knife and drugs Nick found at the blackjack dealers apartment, a knife which is cover in our shooters blood and has her fingerprints all over the handle we've got a pretty good case. Besides you know Sara she won't rest until the puzzle pieces are in place. She wants to go and tell Mariska Leonard's husband why she died, she thinks her kids will need to know why their mother died when they are old enough to understand, I agree with her. I told her she had to wait for you."

"Good."

"So shall we go and arrest her?" Catherine prompted.

"After you." Brass said.

There was a woman sat with her when they entered the room.

"Ms Paulo, I'm Captain Jim Brass with the Las Vegas Police Department, and this is Catherine Willows with the crime lab. And you are?"

"Danielle Braddox." The woman replied.

"Ms Braddox if you please wait outside." Brass requested.

"Stay, I want her to stay." Paulo stated. "Just while I answer your questions."

"We're not here to ask questions." Catherine stated.

"Some maniac just shot her and you're not here to ask her questions?" Braddox questioned.

"No. It would be better if you wait outside." Brass suggested again.

"No I'm staying." She stated adamantly.

"Okay. Julie Paulo or Connie Petri you're under arrest for the murder of Lionel Judas and pending drug charges. As soon as they hospital releases you will be taken to the precinct, but until that time." Brass handcuffed her arm to the bed.

"You're arresting her?" Braddox questioned.

"These officers will keep you company." Brass beckoned two men in uniform into the room.

"I'll call a lawyer." Braddox stated.

TBC


	83. Chapter 83

"Hey." Nick said when Sara let herself in. "How did it go?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Sara." Nick stood in front of her.

Sara kissed him, his knees hit the edge of the couch and Nick wrapped his arms around her taking her with him as he toppled backwards.

"Nice trip?" Sara asked.

"Very." Nick smiled. "Not that I have a problem with having sex on the couch but are you sure you don't want to talk about it."

"He didn't take it very well, but his wife just died you can't expect him to. But in time he'll appreciate knowing why even if it is senseless."

"Truth might always set you free, but it helps a little." Nick tucked her hair behind her ears.

"I read it."

"Read what?"

"The case file."

"Which case?"

"My parents." Sara moved off him to sit down.

"They let you read it?" Nick asked.

"I worked near the morgue where he was taken. They let me look at old case files. I thought it would give me closure. Turns out knowing how, sometimes still doesn't answer the why but it helps a little."

"So about that sex on the couch?" Nick joked which achieved his goal of making Sara smile.

"Why do it on the couch when there is more room in the bed?" She asked.

"Very true." Nick paused. "I didn't get a chance to talk to Grissom and getting more leave."

"Considering how easy it is to get married in Vegas it would just be a case of your parents get the day free and flying out. It wouldn't take much to organise, just need to get a licence and pick a non-themed chapel."

"Organised elopement."

"You never wanted to elope?"

"Never really wanted to get married before now."

"When I was a kid eloping always sound romantic. I never really wanted that big white wedding little girls are supposed to want." Sara told him.

"You're still okay with having the whole family thing in Dallas aren't you?"

"I haven't changed my mind since yesterday. It's a good idea. But if we can't get time off soon we can still get married."

"What a quick we're going to get married now and you can all come if you want after shift."

"Maybe a little more organised than that." Sara conceded.

"We'll figure something out."

"I need to take a shower."

"Need some help washing your back?" Nick offered.

"That would be good."

CSI CSI

Sara rested her head on Nick's chest, his arm wrapped around her, drawing lazy patterns on his stomach.

"Glad to be back at work?" Nick asked.

"I think I would have rather not hit the ground running."

"You figure out the truth that's all they can ask."

"I got a subpoena." Sara added.

"For what?"

"A case I worked a couple years ago they want me to testify at the appeal next week."

"They couldn't have just asked you to testify?"

"Apparently not, I needed to be served."

"Defence or prosecution."

"Prosecution, they want me to confirm that the evidence was correct and conclusive."

"Do you remember the case?" Nick asked.

"Not really. I'll look it up tomorrow."

"What are they appealing on?" Nick inquired.

"No idea." Sara yawned. "Other than a subpoena to testify on Friday, I haven't a clue."

"Go to sleep."

"Okay." Sara yawned again. "Night."

"Night."

TBC


	84. Chapter 84

"I'm sure we're all glad that Greg is back with us." Grissom said as he ran the briefing. "Since Mia is still out sick, Jevon Haggerty is covering. Nick, Catherine, dead body in the cargo hold of a plane that landed in North Las Vegas airport."

"Any idea where they're from?" Nick asked.

"I don't have many more details. O'Reily will meet you there. Warrick, Greg, a spate of thefts from hotel rooms at the Monte Carlo. They think it's an inside job, and Sara…"

"Gris, I'm going to need a few hours tonight."

"For what reason?" Grissom inquired.

"I got subpoenaed to testify at an appeal on Friday, I don't remember much if anything about the case I need time to go over everything." Sara explained.

"Since I was going to say you'd have to wait for something else to come in you can use the time."

"Thanks Gris."

"That's it." Grissom replied.

"What about you?" Catherine inquired.

"I was called in to consult with swing shift about a case earlier I need to get back to it."

"Have fun with your bugs." Warrick said getting up. "Come on Greggo."

"Right behind you."

"Maybe we can talk someone into a free flight to the Caribbean." Catherine suggested to Nick.

"Probably not unless you take your passport to a crime scene." Nick replied. "Bye guys."

CSI CSI

Sara was going over the file relating to the case, when the PA system announced that she had a visitor at the desk. She closed the file and got up to head the desk.

"There's a visitor for me?" Sara asked when she reached the desk.

"Over there." The receptionist pointed the man.

"I'm Sara Sidle." Sara introduced herself.

"This is for you." The man handed her an envelope.

"What is it?"

"You've just been served. Have a nice night."

"Two in two days." Sara muttered as she opened the subpoena. She paled when she read it.

"Is everything okay Sara?" The receptionist asked.

"I need to call a lawyer." Sara replied.

Sara found a quiet room and grabbed a phone and dialled a number.

"_Stokes residence."_ A sleepy woman answered.

"Jillian I'm sorry I forgot about the time difference and how late it was." Sara apologised.

"_Sara."_

"I'm sorry." She apologised.

"_Is everything okay? Is Nick okay?"_

"He's fine, I just needed a little legal advice."

"_Are you in trouble?"_

"I was just subpoenaed to appear in San Francisco appeals court." Sara replied. "Can they subpoena me from another state?"

"_It depends whether it was if you like countersigned in Nevada." _

"I have another subpoena to testify here on that date as well."

"_Then you need a lawyer to contest the out of state one."_ Jillian advised. "_Why don't you fax a copy of the subpoena to me and I'll take a look at it for you?"_

"It's really early in the morning, I shouldn't have bothered you."

"_Sara, you're as good as family. I'll look into it for you. Just out of curiosity what are they subpoenaing you to testify for in San Francisco?"_

"My mother got an appeal hearing from the looks of it."

"_Fax it to me and I'll see what I can do about it." _ Jillian told her. "_I'll call you back in when I've had time to contact the person who issued the subpoena." _

"Thanks Jillian."

"_That's what family are for. Let me give you the fax number."_

Grissom found Sara just after she had sent the fax.

"Sara."

"Oh hey Grissom."

"Is everything alright? I had a message that you'd been served with another subpoena."

"They want me to testify at an appeal in San Francisco the same day as my other subpoena, Nick's mom is going to take a look into and see if she can get me out of it."

"Why do they want you to testify on a case in San Francisco?" Grissom inquired.

"Because it's my Mom." Sara replied.

TBC


	85. Chapter 85

"Hey." Nick said when he found Sara looking off distantly ignoring the case file in front of her as well as ignoring his greeting. "Sara." Nick touched her arm.

"Nick." Sara jumped.

"Hey are you okay? You looked pretty distant."

"Just thinking. How is your airport case going?"

"We just got back we're working the evidence, but no ID yet."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Sara replied.

"What were you thinking about?" Nick asked.

"I got subpoenaed." Sara told him.

"I know you told me before we went to sleep yesterday."

"No, I got subpoenaed again."

"Two in two days that's impressive."

"My mother got an appeal they want me to testify." Sara explained.

"She got an appeal." Nick sat down.

"According to the subpoena." Sara replied.

"Just out of curiosity why do they want you to testify?"

"My brother and I were originally on the witness list but we didn't testify."

"But you've read the investigators reports and the court transcripts that would bias you."

"It's on the same day as I have to testify in this case." Sara sighed.

"They like being short on notice."

"We were out of town for four days." Sara reminded him.

"I know."

"My lawyer is looking into whether it's a valid subpoena since its interstate and then they're trying to get me out of it because I can't be in two places at once and I really don't want to go to jail."

"You have a lawyer?" Nick questioned.

"Ah."

"Ah?" Nick repeated.

"I forgot how late it was and the time difference and called Jillian."

"You called my mother?"

"She's the only lawyer I know the number for off the top of my head." Sara shrugged. "She's said she'd make a few calls in the morning."

"So you're getting Mom to get you out of testifying in California because you have to testify in Nevada from Texas."

"We're a multi-state country." She paused. "It's ridiculous right."

"Mom won't mind helping." He looked at her. "Do you want to go? It would mean having to see her."

"I haven't seen her in 19 years. I don't know her, I only know what I remember and I'm not even sure if that's the truth any more."

"Sara…"

"I got this subpoena first therefore I have to attend this one and the other one we'll deal with."

"Sara…"

"I'm fine; you should get back to work." She told him.

"Sara…" Nick repeated again.

"We can talk later; you should go solve your case."

"You know where I am if you need me." Nick kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks."

CSI CSI

"Hey man." Warrick said.

"Hey Rick." Nick looked up.

"How's the case going?"

"We still don't have an ID on our vic, but it looks like she froze to death."

"That's one hell of a way to go."

"How's your case going?"

"We've got fingerprints Greg's running them through AFIS right now." Warrick paused. "Is Sara okay? I saw her she looked a little out of it."

"Her mother got an appeal for something and Sara got subpoenaed."

"Wow. How long has it been since she's seen her?" Warrick asked.

"Nineteen years. Mom is trying to get her out of it."

"Your mother?"

"Sara called her. She probably should testify anyway she read all the case files and the trial transcript when she worked in San Francisco."

"I'm sure they'll figure something out man. I should go and she how Greg is doing."

"Later bro."

TBC


	86. Chapter 86

It was Nick's turn to work longer than one shift that night, Sara had signed out after her shift was over having spent the night in the lab going over the file.

When she had gotten back to Nick's Sara had taken a shower until the water ran cold.

Sara had attempted to sleep, but after an hour of tossing and turning she had gotten back up. She slipped on one of Nick's shirts over her tank top and boxer shorts combination she had worn to bed.

Flicking through forensic journals she had read numerous times didn't distract her, nor did flicking through the 500 cable channels Nick received.

Pacing around didn't help matters much either.

Sara changed into some jogging shorts and a t-shirt, after stuffing a few dollars and the door key in her pocket she set out for a run.

But after ten miles, other than her muscles and feet protesting, Sara's brain was still racing a mile a minute.

Nick still wasn't back when she returned. After downing a bottle of water and staring at the fish for a while, Sara decided she needed to take another. She stripped and stood under the warm flow of water which hadn't quite finished warming up from her last shower.

"Hey honey I'm home." Nick jokingly called out when he finally got home a few hours later.

"Hey." Sara whispered as she was on the phone.

"Sorry." Nick apologised.

"No he's not that subtle." Sara had to agree with the person on the other end of the phone. "Okay, just let me know… Thanks Andy, you too Carrie…. I'll tell him." Sara hung up.

"Andy and Carrie?" Nick questioned.

"It seems when you hire one Stokes attorney you get another two thrown in for free."

"That's what you get for having a big family."

Nick sat down next to her.

"There's no hot water." Sara told him.

"I'll survive." Nick paused. "Can they get you out of it?"

"They'll push it back until Monday." Sara replied. "But I still need to go."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Nick offered.

"No this is something I need to do by myself." She paused. "Besides you need to save your time off so we can get a honeymoon."

"Any idea where you want to go?" Nick inquired

"Any where with room service and a bed we don't have to get out of." Sara replied.

"So the nearest hotel is fine." Nick half smiled.

"Works for me."

"Are you okay with having to see her?"

"How about next week?" Sara suggested ignoring his question.

"Next week for what?"

"Running a marathon." Sara deadpanned.

"You want to get married next week?" Nick questioned.

"You don't?"

"I just don't want this to be a reaction to…"

"Nick, trust me it's not." Sara put his hand on hers. "Do you know what I've been thinking since I got home? Why I couldn't sleep? Why running couldn't switch my brain off from this one thought?"

"What thought?" Nick asked.

"Why wait? Life is too short."

"Sara…"

"Nick, I love you, I want to marry you, why wait?"

"You're serious?" Nick questioned.

"I'm serious."

"Wow."

"Do you need a minute? I need to call Grissom and tell him I have to go to San Francisco."

"Okay." Nick agreed.

Sara took the phone into the kitchen to call Grissom.

Nick sat for a few minutes not knowing what to say, he wanted to marry Sara, and he knew she wanted to do it soon but next week was a whole new ball game. But Nick was a sucker when it came to Sara, he knew he would take her anyway he could get her, if she wanted to get married the following week before she had to go and face her mother for the first time in almost twenty years, he wasn't about to say no.

Nick pulled his cell phone off his belt and hit speed dial.

"_Brown."_ Warrick answered.

"I think I'm going to need a best man." Nick stated.

TBC


	87. Chapter 87

A/N: Sorry for the delay but I had a mental block when it came to this story, this really didn't answer it but it keeps up the continuation.

"_Nick_?" Warrick questioned.

"Who else do you think it would be?" Nick inquired.

"_As I just got to sleep and you woke me up, I have no idea_."

"Sara wants to get married."

"_You proposed."_ Warrick reminded him.

"She wants to get married next week."

"_Why so sudden_?"

"She says why wait? We can put the wedding in Texas off until we can get a week or so off."

"_I suppose she has a point_." Warrick sleepily agreed. _"Why exactly did you call again?"_

"I'm going to need a best man. Do you want the job?"

"_You want me to be your best man_?"

"It's either you or Greg and well Greg trying to talk Sara out of it probably doesn't qualify for the job."

"_I'd be honoured man. When?" _

"We'll figure out the details and get back to you on that one."

_"Okay. I'm going back to sleep_."

"I'll see you tonight." Nick told him then hung up.

"Grissom is okay with my having to go to San Francisco, hopefully I should be able to get back in time for shift." Sara informed Nick.

"Warrick says he'll be my best man." Nick replied.

"You called him?" Sara questioned.

"I told him we'd get back to him when we picked a day, but you do know we'll probably have to go to work afterwards."

"I can live with that if you can." Sara sat down next to him, Nick wrapped an arm around her.

"When?"

"Your parents work, so Saturday?" Sara suggested. "I have to fly out Sunday night to San Francisco, and then I'll fly back Monday night in time for work."

"Sounds romantic."

"Nick." Sara sighed. "We can wait."

"Saturday is fine." He agreed.

"I'll talk to Catherine about coming to look for a dress with me later."

"How about we get some sleep and we'll figure the details out later?" Nick suggested.

"Okay." Sara agreed giving him a quick kiss.

CSI

"Are you busy after work?" Sara asked Catherine as they drove to their crime scene.

"Not a lot, why?"

"Do you have time to go shopping with me?" She inquired.

"Dress shopping?"

"Nick and I are getting married next weekend before I have to go to San Francisco to testify for the day."

"That soon."

"We figured why wait, or rather I did and Nick agreed."

"I can handle a little dress shopping." Catherine confirmed. "So are you excited?"

"Terrified." Sara replied. "But in a good way. Although we have to work afterwards."

"Grissom will give you the night off." Catherine said.

"No, we'll be fine. I have to go to San Francisco the night after and we wanted to have a decent honeymoon after the wedding in Texas which will depend on how much time we can get off."

"You should go somewhere hot, with a real beach."

"That would require a passport." Sara pointed out.

"You don't have one?"

"Never needed one." Sara shrugged. "Besides it's Vegas you can do a world tour in under an hour and not have to deal with the jetlag."

"Still doesn't beat the real thing. Isn't there anywhere you ever wanted to go?"

" Italy." Sara replied.

"Anywhere specific?"

"No, just generally, although I would like to see the Sistine Chapel."

TBC


	88. Chapter 88

"I think that will be a good place to stop for today." The judge said. "We'll continue with Ms Sidle's testimony on Monday."

"Your honour." Sara said.

"Yes Ms Sidle?" He asked.

"Is there any chance we can continue?" Sara requested.

"That's an odd request Ms Sidle. For what purpose would you like to continue?"

"I have a subpoena to testify in San Francisco on Monday morning. It was supposed to be today but they've managed to push it back until Monday. My lawyers tried to contest it but I need to be there. I'm supposed be at work by midnight and I'm getting married tomorrow." Sara replied.

"Mr Green how many more questions do you have?" The judge asked the defence lawyer. "Do you think you can be done in an hour?"

"I believe so."

"Then we'll continue given Ms Sidle's circumstances."

"Hey girl." Warrick said when he walked into the locker room. Sara was putting her things in her locker.

"Hey Warrick."

"Getting nervous? There's only about 14 ½ hours to go." He said looking at his watch.

"No." Sara replied.

"Terrified?"

"No."

"Planning on skipping town?"

"Not unless you count going to San Francisco tomorrow." Sara replied.

"So no second thoughts?" Warrick questioned.

"Not a one." She closed her locker door. "Why did Nick say something?"

"I haven't spoken since he headed home yesterday after shift." He paused. "By the way how did testifying go?"

"Fine, the judge wanted to finish for the weekend halfway through my testimony but I explained about having to go to San Francisco, so he let it go on until my testimony was done. So that's one thing off my list."

"So getting married doesn't faze you the slightest bit?" Warrick questioned.

"No, but ask me again in 14 hours."

"Where's Nick anyway?" Warrick inquired.

"Picking his parents up at the airport. Bill had to work today, so Jillian flew to Austin this afternoon and they both got a flight out to Vegas."

" Austin?" Warrick questioned.

"You knew Nick's father was on the Texas Supreme Court, it's based in Austin. So he's there during the week." Sara replied. "I'm going to grab some coffee."

"I don't think Greg is in yet."

"I guess I'm going on a coffee search." Sara stated. "See you later."

…

"So can I talk you out of it?" Greg asked as he appeared in the doorway to the break room.

"Oh hey Greg and no you can't talk me out of it."

"Had to give it a shot. Want some coffee?" Greg inquired.

"Please." Sara replied.

Greg pulled a bag of coffee beans out of his pocket.

"Ran out." Greg explained. "So are you nervous?"

"No and no second thoughts either."

"Sign of a good decision." Catherine walked in.

"I think so." Sara replied.

"I checked your dress no creases." Catherine told her. Sara had let Catherine take both the dresses she selected home with her so Nick didn't see them.

"You've got her dress?" Greg questioned.

"Both of them." Catherine replied.

"You can't wear the same dress to two weddings." Sara told Greg.

"A fashion faux pas?" Greg asked. "You learn something new around here everyday."

TBC


	89. Chapter 89

Nick called to say he would be a few minutes late, due to a delay with his parent's plane, so Grissom just told him to meet Greg and Warrick at the crime scene.

"Sorry I'm late." Nick apologised. "My parent's flight was late."

"Their flight okay otherwise?" Warrick asked.

"Yes. They're checked into their hotel so hopefully they should get a decent night's sleep."

"So any nerves, second thoughts or plans to skip town?" Warrick inquired.

"No, no and no." Nick replied. "Why did Sara say something? I haven't seen her all day."

"No. You two must be the only people getting married in Vegas that haven't had any second thoughts."

"Catherine says if it's the right decision you shouldn't have second thoughts." Greg pointed out.

"Catherine is a smart woman." Nick replied. "What have we got anyway?"

"Dead guy in the middle of a nightclub dance floor." Greg replied.

"A great way to start a night." Nick stated.

"Well you wouldn't let us throw you a bachelor party, so a dead guy is the best we can come up with on short notice." Warrick slapped him on the back.

"How can you top that?"

CSI CSI

"Sidle." Sara answered her ringing cell phone a few hours later.

"_Sara, it's Detective Ortega."_

"Hi."

"_Does Nick have a room registered at the MGM Grand?"_ Ortega inquired.

"It's for his parents they're in town for the wedding? Why are you calling exactly did something happen?"

"_There was a dead guy in a room down the hall, hooker call it in. I just wanted to check."_

"You're going to need CSI, I'll be right there."

"_Thanks Sara."_

"Just out of curiosity why didn't you call Nick?"

"_I tried his cell phone went straight to voicemail. I didn't want to put a call out through dispatch in case it was a different Nick Stokes._"

"I'll be right there." She hung up. "Hey Gris." She walked into the room he was working.

"Hey Sara did you find something?"

"No the room is clear." Sara replied. "I just got a call from Ortega; there is a dead guy at the MGM Grand."

"And he called you?" Grissom questioned.

"Nick's parents are in a room down the hall. Nick thought it would be nice to give them a real look at Vegas." Sara explained. "Do you mind if I go over there and check on them and see if there is anything to investigate."

"Call in if you need back up." Grissom told her.

"Thanks Gris."

"Just out of curiosity why didn't he call Nick?"

"Nick's cell went straight to voice mail, the battery is probably dying or they can't get a signal."

"Just let me know." Grissom told her.

CSI CSI

"Hey Ortega." Sara flashed her ID to the officer signing people in.

"Hey Sara." He replied. "Your in-laws to be are in that room there."

"Did they hear anything?"

"No they were asleep. By the way what kind of judge is Nick's father?" Ortega inquired.

"Texan Supreme Court." Sara replied. "His mother is a public defender. Actually they could stage a whole trial, expert witnesses and all you'd just need a bad guy and a jury. Has David been by to check on the body?"

"Not yet we're still waiting on him. It does look suspicious."

"I'll just check on them and I'll be over." Sara told him.

"4 09." Ortega told her.

"Thanks."

Sara knocked on the door to Bill and Jillian's hotel room.

Bill opened the door dressed in a robe.

"Hey." Sara said. "Sorry did I wake you?"

"No Jillian is asleep but I'm still awake from when the detective knocked."

"I just thought I'd come and check everything was okay before I headed down the hall."

"We're okay; we weren't expecting this level of excitement." Bill told her.

"Welcome to Vegas. If you think this is exciting you should be here on fight night, Nick describes it as the flight of the Pifflings. I just wanted to check that you were both okay."

"How are you feeling it's only a few hours to go?" Bill inquired.

"I'm good." Sara replied. "I should get back to work; I'll see you this afternoon."

"Okay." Bill told her.

TBC


	90. Chapter 90

"Nick." The receptionist called to him as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Yes?"

"Detective Ortega was trying to contact you earlier."

"Did he say why?" Nick inquired.

"No."

"Okay thanks." Nick smiled, he pulled his cell phone he found the number for Ortega and dialled it.

"_Ortega."_

"It's Nick Stokes; you were trying to contact me earlier."

"_Sara took care of the problem."_

"What problem?" Nick inquired.

"_There was a dead guy with a hooker in a room down the hall from your parents. But since the room was registered to you I called to check and since I could get a hold of you I called Sara."_

"Are my parents okay?" Nick asked.

"_They're fine. They didn't see or hear anything, Sara checked on them before she started processing the scene."_

"Okay." Nick agreed.

"_I need to get back to work_."

"Thank Ortega." Nick hung up.

"Everything okay man?" Warrick when Nick walked into the room where they had a large collection of woman's shoes which they had collected to try and tie to the marks on the victim.

"I should have picked a different hotel for my parents to stay in."

"Why?" Warrick asked.

"There is a dead guy down the hall, which Sara is investigating." Nick replied.

"All the excitement of Vegas and a dead body thrown in." Greg joked. "Your parents should visit more often."

"My Dad doesn't get a lot of time off since he became a judge." Nick explained. "So he spends the time he does get off at home with Mom and the rest of the family."

"Call Sara." Warrick suggested. "I don't think there is a rule against talking to your fiancée on your wedding day."

"I haven't seen Sara since before she left early yesterday. She was at the court house most of yesterday, I'd gone to pick some things up by the time she got home and then I had to pick my parents up."

"Call her." Warrick told him. "We can handle this for a few minutes. I'm sure if he tries hard enough Greg can find a Grissom type comment to make about all these heels."

"You want to ask Sara her opinion on heels; she'll tell you all the problems they can cause." Greg replied.

"I'll only be a few minutes." Nick told them before disappearing to the break room to call Sara.

"_Sidle."_ Sara answered her phone.

"What are you wearing?"

"_I'm not sure my fiancé would like me to answer that question." _ Sara replied.

"How did court go?"

"_Long and drawn out and I had to talk the judge into letting me finishing my testimony because he wanted to continue it over until Monday."_

"At least that's done now."

"_You heard about the problem at the MGM Grand." _Sara guessed.

"I spoke to Ortega." Nick confirmed.

"_Your parents are fine, Jillian had gone back to sleep and I spoke to your father he's fine. Enjoying the entertainment that Las Vegas has to offer, I told him if he wanted real entertainment to come back on a fight night."_

"So they are fine."

"_Yes. David said it was probably a heart attack, he had a medical alert bracelet for angina, wasn't in the best shape, and he was here with a hooker who wouldn't get served in a bar." _

"I suppose it's a good way to go." Nick replied.

"_I doubt his wife would see it that way." _ Sara countered. "Just a future warning."

"So any second thoughts or changing your mind?"

"_No, you?"_

"No. We should probably get back to work, I have a hundred pairs of shoes I need to test."

"_Sounds like fun. If I don't see you before I'll be the one in the white dress."_

"I love you." Nick told her.

"_Me too."_

TBC


	91. Chapter 91

Catherine finished doing the zip up on the back of Sara's dress.

"What do you think?" Sara asked as she smoothed out the dress.

"You look great."

"Would now be a good time to admit I'm slightly nervous?" Sara inquired.

"You're getting married in less than an hour; I'd say a few nerves are warranted."

"This was a crazy idea wasn't it?"

"No, if you're certain it's right why wait. You're really having second thoughts now?"

"Not about marrying Nick, just deciding I wanted to get married in a week."

"Sara, Vegas is the place for organising a wedding at short notice." Catherine pointed out. "You can't throw a stone without hitting a wedding chapel. Hell there are several drive-thru's. It's going to be great and then you have the Texan family wedding to look forward too."

"I know."

"Good. Now I'll be back in a minute, tell Greg to come in if he gets here before I get back."

The doorbell rang a few minute later.

"It's open." Sara called.

"I know I'm a little early, but for once traffic was…" Greg paused when he saw Sara.

"What do you think?" Sara asked.

Her dress was floor length, skimmed every curve and white, but a rose pattern at the top and the bottom.

Greg's mouth had dropped and he was speechless.

"I'd say that is the best compliment you're going to get." Catherine said walking in. "Greg close you're mouth and say something nice."

"You look gorgeous."

"Thanks." Sara replied. "Suddenly I feel better."

"The question is how worried are you about your hair." Greg asked.

"Why?" Catherine inquired.

"I borrowed my friend's pink Cadillac convertible." Greg replied.

"Your friend let you borrow his Caddy?" Catherine questioned.

"It's fully restored. It's worth a bomb, and there was something about needing CSI to put me back together if I damage it." Greg stated. "But I figured a special day deserved a special car."

"Thank you Greg." Sara smiled. "You're a good guy."

"Is there any point trying to talk you into running off with me?"

"No." Sara replied.

"You looked like you were missing something." Catherine said holding up a diamond solitaire necklace.

"That's beautiful." Sara said. "I can't."

"Think of it as you're something borrowed and something old." Catherine replied. "It was a present for my 18th birthday from Sam. It was the one thing I wouldn't let Eddie hock."

"Thank you."

"That's something old and borrowed, the dress is new. Do you have something blue?" Greg inquired.

Sara hiked up the bottom of her dress to reveal a blue garter.

"Nice legs."

"If you want really blue it came wrapped around a copy of the Karma Sutra." Sara added.

"Let me guess who gave you that." He glanced at Catherine.

"Actually it was Jackie." Catherine replied at the very short shower we threw Sara.

"You got a shower and Nick couldn't have a bachelor party?"

"Nick was the one who said he didn't want a bachelor party." Sara corrected. "I had no objections."

"Interesting."

"I think his brother-in-law have something planned for Texas."

"So do you want to get going?" Catherine asked.

"No time like the present."

CSI CSI

"Nick man, you need to stop pacing." Warrick told him.

"What?"

"You've been pacing backwards and forward for the last ten minutes and it's been driving me crazy."

"Sorry."

"Nerves kicked in?" Warrick chuckled.

"In overload."

"It will be over in less than an hour, then you have to make nice with everyone for an hour and then you can go and do whatever you want to do until we have to work tonight."

"What if she changes her mind?" Nick asked.

"Trust me I talked to her a couple hours ago, the only way she's not get here is if someone ties her to a chair, and then she'd probably bring the chair with her. Relax."

TBC


	92. Chapter 92

A/N: A wedding for Valentine's Day.

The music started and Sara walked up the aisle.

Nick smiled when she reached him.

"You look beautiful." Nick whispered.

"You don't look bad either." Sara whispered back.

"We are gathered here today…" The minister started.

Since Vegas weddings were short it didn't take long to get through the vows and through the exchange of rings.

"You may kiss the bride." The minister told Nick.

"Yes sir." Nick wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

Sara started giggling.

"That's good for my ego." Nick said.

"Sorry." Sara apologised but she couldn't stop laughing.

The guests started congratulating them.

"Are you going to tell us what's so funny?" Greg asked Sara.

"I have no idea." Sara replied still laughing.

"You have no idea?" Catherine asked.

"Not a one."

"It makes a chance to people crying or fainting." The minister commented. "If you want to leave through that door they'll take care of the photographs."

Sara was still laughing.

"Hey Doc do you know how to stop a person laughing?" Warrick asked Doc Robbins.

"Several, but give her a minute. She might stop." He replied.

"Nick I'm just stealing your wife for a minute." Catherine grabbed the still laughing Sara's arm and dragged to the bathroom.

"Thanks." Sara said.

"Here try this." Catherine handed her a paper bag she had swiped.

Sara took the paper bag and breathed into as if she was hyperventilating. Slowly because she was concentrating on her breathing she stopped laughing.

"Feeling better?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, thank you. That was embarrassing."

"It was different." Catherine smiled. "So how does being married feel?"

"Good." Sara replied. "I'm red." She said glancing in the mirror.

"We can take care of that." Catherine pulled some powder out of her purse and retouched Sara's makeup. "There."

"Thanks."

"Ready to go and get these photographs taken?" Catherine asked.

"Yes."

"Good." Catherine held open the door.

"And she stopped laugh." Greg noticed.

"Feeling better?" Nick asked.

"Yes. Sorry about that."

"No problem. Photographs?"

"Okay."

…

Once the photographs were taken Greg took them in the Cadillac to place they were going to have a short reception, since everyone apart from Nick's parents had to work that night.

They managed to have a quick dance, some food and Warrick made a speech.

Greg drove them home.

"So kids." Greg said. "Have a nice night and Sara it's a very nice garter."

"Thanks Greg." Sara gave him a quick kiss on the cheek which caused him to blush.

"Garter?" Nick questioned.

"I'll show you later." Sara told him. "See you later Greg."

"Bye." Greg drove off.

"Wait a minute." Nick went and opened the door. Then came back and scooped Sara up in his arms to carry her over the threshold.

"Don't throw you're back out." Sara warned.

"I don't think that will be a problem Mrs Stokes."

"I like the sound of that." Sara kissed him as Nick kicked the door shut.

TBC


	93. Chapter 93

Sara and Nick made it to work on time, just.

Grissom sent them to different scenes which wasn't unusual.

Sara ran into the paramedics who were leaving empty handed.

"Sara." Hank said.

"Hank." Sara was a little surprised to see him. They had managed to avoid each other most of the time since their break up.

"It's been a while." Hank stated.

"Yes."

"You look good." Hank told her.

"Thanks." Sara shifted awkwardly. "How is Elaine?"

"We broke up." Hank replied.

"I'm sorry."

"You got married?" He noticed the wedding band on her finger. Sara knew it wouldn't tear through her gloves like her engagement ring which was on a chain around her next as usual.

"Yes." Sara glanced at it and smiled.

"How long?" Hank inquired.

"What time is it?" Sara asked.

"About 12.30."

"Around 10 hours." Sara answered.

"You got married yesterday and you're working tonight?" He questioned.

"We're going to have a more traditional wedding with his family in a few months and have a honeymoon then." Sara replied. "We just wanted to get married.

"Who did you marry?" Hank inquired.

"Hey Mrs Stokes we have a scene for you to process." Brass appeared.

"I'll be right there." Sara told him. "I just need a minute."

"Okay." Brass turned and walked the other way.

"You married Nick Stokes?" Hank couldn't believe it. "Why?"

"Because he is my best friend, he loves me and he would never use me as the other woman. Excuse me I have to get to work."

Sara walked over to the room in which the dead woman was found.

"What have we got?" Sara asked.

"Everything okay?" Brass inquired.

"Just fine." Sara replied.

"Heather Dreyfuss, 28. Here for a dental convention."

"That sounds like a barrel of fun." Sara said.

"David's on his way."

"I'll take a look around." Sara set her kit down and pulled on her gloves.

"How's married life treating you so far?" Brass inquired.

"I have no complaints." Sara replied with a smile.

"And you made it to work on time?"

"Barely." Sara smirked.

"You should have taken the night off." Brass suggested.

"It was short notice and we want a honeymoon later so it's fine." Sara replied. "My flight to San Francisco is at 8 tonight so I'm taking the night off, there is only so much time I can take off."

"Don't you have like six weeks of leave accumulated?"

"Roughly." Sara replied. "Nick doesn't. It's fine. Hopefully we won't have to pull a double."

"Okay." Brass conceded. "It was a great dress."

"I liked it. Greg was speechless, proving there is a first time for everything."

"Greg speechless?" Brass repeated. "That would take seeing. Nick's parents seem nice."

"They are; his whole family are." She crouched down. "That's interesting."

"Define interesting." Brass came to look over her shoulder.

"There is a footprint on the floor here, and a matching one on the window ledge."

"Someone came in through the window?" Brass questioned. "We're ten storeys up."

"I'm just getting started." Sara replied. "And there are plenty of ways to get into a room ten storeys up; it just indicates someone with a determination." She grabbed her camera.

"I'll wait outside for David." Brass said.

"Thank you."

TBC


	94. Chapter 94

"So how do you like being married so far?" Warrick asked Nick.

"Not bad so far."

"Did Sara ever tell you what she found so funny?"

"She honestly has no idea." Nick replied. "She just started laughing and couldn't stop. But then again we didn't spend a lot of time talking when we got home."

"I'll bet." Warrick responded. "So when do you loose her?"

"To San Francisco?" Nick questioned. "Her flight is just after 8 and my parents' flight is 8.30 so it's only one trip to the airport."

"I suppose that's something. How do you think Sara is going to do coming face to face with her mother after all these years?"

"Honestly I don't know." Nick replied.

"I guess you just give her a hug when she gets back and listen if she wants to talk about it."

"I could or I could leave work at 8am exactly like I discussed with Grissom and catch the 9.30 flight to San Francisco." Nick glanced over at him.

"Does Sara know you're going to San Francisco?"

"No. But we're on the same plane back and have seats next to each other so it would be hard to miss."

"How did you manage that?"

"I booked her tickets for her." Nick replied. "She asked me to do it while she went shopping for a dress with Catherine."

"It was a great dress." Warrick stated.

"She bought two; the other one Mom is taking back to Dallas with her." Nick explained.

"Did she let you see it?"

"No. It's bad luck apparently."

"That's women for you." Warrick stated.

"Don't mention my trip to Sara."

"Okay man."

CSI CSI

"So." Nick said as he stood face to face with Sara at the airport.

"So." Sara echoed.

"I guess you're going to have to go so you don't miss you're flight." Nick said.

"I know." Sara didn't make a move. "This is stupid; I'm only going to be gone twenty-four hours."

"It's okay to miss me." Nick told her.

"Doesn't someone have a big ego?"

"I'm going to miss you too."

"This is crazy." Sara said a tear running down her cheek.

"Come here." Nick wrapped his arms around her.

"You'll come and pick me up?" Sara asked.

"I'll be here when you get back." Nick assured her, it was just not the way Sara thought he meant it.

"Good."

"If you need me you can call me I'll keep my cell on."

"I'll call you when I land." Sara told him.

"I know." Nick held her.

A call went out for boarding.

"Just give me a kiss and tell me you love me." Sara told him.

"I love you." He kissed her. "Everything will be okay and I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you too. Have a good night at work."

"Have a good flight."

Sara glanced back over her shoulder at Nick as she walked towards the gate.

"I love you." He mouthed to her.

"I love you." She mouthed back and then let out a slow breath.

CSI CSI

Nick had headed to work after he made sure everyone had taken off as he didn't have anything else to do.

He caught up on some paperwork and refilled his kit.

"Hey man." Warrick said when he walked into the break room. "Sara and your parents get away okay?"

"Yes. Both flights left on time. Sara landed and checked into the hotel."

"That's good."

"She's still a little uncertain about the whole thing."

"And she doesn't know you're going to be there yet?" Warrick asked.

"No."

TBC


	95. Chapter 95

"The people call Sara Sidle." The prosecutor told the judge.

Sara walked into the court room getting the first glimpse of her mother who was dressed in an orange jumpsuit.

Sara was sworn in and took her seat.

"Please state you're name for the record." The prosecutor requested.

"Sara Sidle Stokes." She replied.

"Stokes?" The prosecutor questioned.

"I got married on Saturday."

"Congratulations. Ms Stokes, you're the daughter of the defendant are you not?"

"Yes." Sara confirmed.

"And the victim was your father?"

"Yes."

"And you were present on the night he died?"

"Yes."

"I have a few questions regarding that night." He stated.

"Can I say something about my testimony?" Sara asked.

"Ms Stokes that's not how we do things." The judge informed her. "You wait until he asks you a question."

"Yes your Honour. But it's relevant to the biased nature of my testimony and the accuracy of my account of what happened that night." Sara explained.

"What did you wish to say Ms Stokes?" The judge inquired intrigued by her statement.

"About nine or ten years ago I read the case file into the investigation of my father's death and the court transcript."

"How did you obtain the case file?" The judge inquired.

"I worked for the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office in the crime lab. I put in a request for the file and they let me see it."

"Was Mr Patton aware of this fact?" The judge asked.

"My lawyers advised Mr Patton of this fact when they tried to get me out of the subpoena to testify last Friday as I already had a subpoena to give evidence at another appeal in Las Vegas." Sara explained.

"What exactly do you do for a living Ms Stokes?"

"I'm a criminalist for Clark County Nevada." Sara replied.

"Mr Patton, Ms Stokes testimony of the events of the night of her father's death could have been unduly influenced and therefore is inadmissible. You can restrict your questions to areas not related to the murder specifically." The judge ordered.

"Yes your honour." Patton sighed. "Ms Stokes, was your brother present at the home on the night of the murder?"

"Yes." Sara replied.

"And do you know he is currently?"

"No. I haven't seen or heard from him in about 19 years."

"Nineteen years?" The lawyer questioned.

"We were placed in separate foster homes when my mother was arrested. I saw him approximately three times after my mother was jailed, he was disruptive and was moved to a different foster home and we lost track of each other."

"Ms Stokes did your mother ever hit you?"

"No." Sara replied.

"Do you know why you were on the originally witness list and then dropped?"

"I was a child, I have no idea." Sara replied.

"No further questions."

"Your witness Mr Kinney." The judge informed her mother's defence attorney.

"Ms Stokes, congratulations on your wedding." Kinney said.

"Thank you."

"Where did you go to college?"

"Harvard, I had a science scholarship."

"And you're a criminalist, so you understand how crime scenes and the justice system work."

"Yes." Sara replied.

"Was your father an alcoholic?" Kinney inquired.

"I don't think he would have used that term but yes." Sara stated. "He drank a lot."

"Did he ever hit you?"

"Yes."

"On more than one occasion?"

"Yes."

"And your brother?"

"Yes." Sara confirmed.

"And your mother? He used to beat her?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you ever call the police? Or tell an adult?"

"I did and no-one believed me." Sara replied. "So I stopped, I thought it was normal."

"So as an adult given your experiences do you think it's your father was stabbed in self defence?"

"I remember my father being passed out drunk, and I remember seeing my mother sink a knife into his chest before I ran and hid under the bed. I remember because the image haunted my dreams for years. What other specific details I can't tell you whether they were what I remember from that night or from what I read. My father was an abusive alcoholic, but that doesn't justify murder. I deal with death on a regular basis; self defence is one wound, maybe two, but not being stabbed 23 times."

TBC


	96. Chapter 96

Sara walked out of the court room and let out a sigh and wiped away the tear that ran down her cheek.

"Looks like you could do with a hug darlin'." A voice from behind her said.

"Nick." She swung around. "What are you doing here?"

"It's the damnedest thing; I went out for milk and ended up here. So where did we land on that hug?"

"I'm glad you're here." Sara walked into his arms.

"I wasn't going to let you deal with this by yourself."

"So you caught a plane out here."

"I even have the seat next to you on the flight back." He told her.

"When did you decide you were coming to San Francisco?" Sara asked.

"When I booked your tickets, I booked mine too." Nick admitted. "Are you mad?"

"No, I love you even more." Sara kissed him.

"So this is San Francisco?" Nick said.

"I don't think you can judge it from the court house." Sara told him.

"Rumour has it that there is a beach with an actual ocean."

"You shouldn't listen to rumours, but that one is true."

"What do you say we grab something for lunch and go and have a picnic on the beach?" Nick suggested.

"You just want to paddle in the ocean."

"When do I get to see the ocean? We live the middle of the desert and the closest thing we have is a lake."

"Sounds like a plan. I need to change out this suit." Sara had her overnight bag with her having checked out of the hotel before heading to the court house.

"You know if we weren't where we are I would offer to help you." Nick whispered in her ear.

"I know you would." Sara smiled they started to walk towards the bathroom.

"Ms Stokes." A voice behind them made them stop. Sara reluctantly.

"Mr Kinney. Nick, this is Mr Kinney my mother's lawyer. Mr Kinney, my husband Nick." Sara made introductions.

"Nice to meet you." Nick said.

"Likewise." Kinney stated. "Ms Stokes, the judge decided to take a recess for half an hour. Your mother asked me to ask you if you would be willing to talk to her before you left."

"I don't know…" Sara said.

"Mr Kinney can you give us a minute?" Nick requested.

"Okay." Kinney backed off.

"Sara, this is why you came here to talk to your mother. This may be the only chance you get to talk to her, have her answer some questions. You know what they say; if it doesn't kill you it only makes you stronger. Everything that's happened to you good and bad made you the woman I fell in love with. Just give her a few minutes."

"You'll come with me?" Sara asked.

"I'll be with you every step of the way I promise." Nick assured.

Sara took a breath and then told Kinney that she would see her.

…

Sara and Nick waited in the room for her mother to be brought in.

"We can go to the beach for our honeymoon." Sara told him.

"I told you I'd take care of that and make it a surprise." Nick rubbed her arm. "We just need to get you a passport."

"I need to go to the DMV when we get back. Get my address and name on my drivers licence changed. Then there is the paperwork at work. Do you mind if I keep my name at work? It will be less hassle."

"Whatever you want. Warrick and Greg offered to help move the rest of your stuff over."

The door behind them opened. Sara's mother walked in in handcuffs with a guard and sat in a chair.

Sara didn't know what to say.

"Mrs Sidle, I'm Nick Stokes, Sara's husband." Nick introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet you." Sara's mother replied. Nick couldn't help but notice how much Sara looked like her mother. "Stardust."

"It's Sara Mom, it has been for a long time even before I got it legally changed."

"Your grandmother used to call you Sara."

"I know." Sara stated.

"So you went to Harvard and you're a criminalist?"

"Yes." Sara confirmed.

"I didn't know they were separating you and your brother." Her mother told her.

"It was a long time ago." Sara replied.

"Tell me about your life."

"Let's see I came home from school one day to find Dad passed out drunk, and then a few hours later I see you stabbing him and when a police officer finally coaxed me out from under the bed I find out that you'd stabbed him 23 times. He was a drunk and abusive but there were other ways out Mom. Then I get stuck in the foster care system and bounced around while keeping my grades up enough to get a scholarship to Harvard and I got kicked out on my 18th birthday. I got my Masters degree, got a job with the San Francisco Medical Examiners office, moved to Las Vegas and got married. The end. So how's jail?"

"Sara." Her mother said.

"No Mom. I didn't want to be here but my lawyers couldn't get me out of the subpoena. I know what happened I've read everything connected to the case. There were other ways out than killing him. I got you the number for a shelter, you tore it up. I called the police you told them I was a kid with an overactive imagination and just took an argument out of context, it didn't matter that Dad had tried to strangle you. I tried but I was a kid there wasn't anything else I could. I can't deal with this." Sara turned away.

"Sara, I'm your mother I love you. I was trying to protect you."

"Don't put this on me Mom. I've been taking care of myself for a long time. I tried. It took me a long time to trust anyone because I was always concerned they would leave or I would be taken away. Nick was the first person I trusted to tell him the whole truth about what happened, and that took a long time." Sara sighed. "I've got a good job, good friends, a great husband and I'm finally happy. If you get out now or some time in the future don't bother contacting me, you're not a part of my life any more. I don't have anything else to say." Sara walked out the door.

"It was nice to have met you." Nick told her.

"Take good care of my baby." Sara's mother requested.

"Always."

TBC


	97. Chapter 97

"Sara." Nick said as he walked out after her.

Sara had already grabbed her bag from the guard who had held it after searching it, since she wasn't allowed to take it into the room where her mother had been brought.

"Sara." Nick put a hand on her arm. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly I don't know how I feel." Sara admitted.

"You got to tell her how you feel that's something."

"I know." Sara sighed. "I'll go and change."

"Okay."

…

Nick waited patiently outside the bathroom for Sara to exit. When she finally did she had changed into jeans and a shirt.

"Let me take that." Nick took her bag from her.

"We should be able to get a bus down the street." Sara told him.

"I rented a car." Nick told her. "I figured it was easier than figuring out public transport."

"How exactly did you figure out your way here from the airport?"

"Car had GPS." Nick shrugged. "And I map quested it before I left."

"Where did you park?"

"Parking lot." Nick replied.

They stopped at a deli that Sara used to frequent, they ordered lunch and then headed to the beach.

Sara stood on the boardwalk and took a deep breath.

"Smell good?" Nick asked.

"I'd forgotten how much I loved the smell of the ocean."

"So that's the Pacific Ocean?" Nick asked his face lighting up.

"You really haven't seen the ocean much have you?"

"I'm from Texas, not California."

"Big kid." Sara smiled. "Want to go and dip your feet in the water?" Nick looked at her. "Go ahead. I'll set up lunch."

Nick gave her a quick kiss before he walked across.

Sara shook her head and walked onto beach, she sat out the blanket they had managed to procure and then set out their lunch. She watched as Nick had rolled up his pants and taken off his shoes, and was stood letting the water lap over his feet.

It was another ten minutes before Nick came to join her.

"Have fun?" Sara asked.

"You're going to tease me about this for the rest of my life aren't you?"

"No. You flew all the way to San Francisco so I didn't have to go through this by myself; I think that will get you off."

"Thank you." Nick sat down on the blanket. "This is nice."

"I'm sorry." Sara apologised.

"For what?"

"Make us get married on a crazy schedule."

"Hey Sara, I didn't when or where we got married as long as we did and you showed up. I would have agreed if you woke up in the middle of the night said lets go through the drive thru wedding counter."

"Have I mentioned I love you recently?" Sara asked.

"Not that I recall." Nick teased. "I love you too." He leant over and kissed her. His stomach rumbled.

"I think you need to eat." Sara suggested.

Nick tucked into his sandwich.

"So what do you want to do with the rest of the day? We have about five hours until we have to head back to the airport." Nick asked. He'd booked them on a later flight in case Sara's participation in the case took longer than planned.

"You can't come to San Francisco without seeing Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39." Sara told him. "And you should probably see Golden Gate Bridge."

"The tourist hot spots." Nick smiled.

"And the odd dead person." Sara recalled working some cases there.

"So it's like the Strip."

"Without the lights and the Casinos." Sara stated then paused.

"What?" Nick prompted.

"Since we're in town there's somewhere else I'd like to go."

"Anywhere you like." Nick told her.

"I thought I could introduce you to a few people."

"Who?" Nick asked.

"Some people I used to work with." Sara replied. Sara traded birthday and Christmas cards with her form colleagues and the odd e-mail.

"I'd like that." Nick agreed.

"But first Fisherman's Wharf."

TBC


	98. Chapter 98

They had a good time at Fisherman's Wharf, Sara showing Nick some of the highlights of San Francisco which San Franciscans pretended to hate and write off as too touristy.

Sara told Nick where to park when they got to the morgue and they went into the main entrance.

Sara didn't recognise the receptionist; the one who had been there when she worked there had been there for seven years and had never taken a sick day.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked.

"Is Tom Baker working today?" Sara inquired.

"What is this in regards to?"

"Just an old friend dropping by." Sara answered.

"I'll let him know he has a visitor, take a seat."

Sara and Nick took seats.

"So this is where you used to work?"

"It's not our lab back in Vegas, but I liked it."

"Why if it isn't Sara Sidle back from big old Vegas?" An older guy walked out into reception.

"Hey Tom." Sara got up and gave him a hug.

"You finally decided you didn't like the bright lights and you're going to take me that open offer to come back?"

"Vegas grows on you." Sara shrugged. "Tom, I'd like you to meet my husband Nick Stokes. Nick this is my old boss Tom Baker."

"You got married?" Tom was shocked. "Congratulations and it's nice to meet you Nick."

"You too." Nick replied.

"So how long have you been married and why didn't I get an invitation?"

"About forty-eight hours and it was quick and quiet." Sara replied.

"So you're here on honeymoon?"

"I had testify and we're flying back to work tonight." Sara replied.

"They had me in to testify on Friday, I didn't know they were calling you too." Tom told her.

Nick looked at Sara a little confused.

"Tom was one of the investigators on my parent's case. Although I didn't actually meet him until I started working here."

"It was my first field case." Tom stated. "The original investigator died about seven years ago. How long can you stay?"

"We've got a few hours." Sara answered

"We've had a few changes of personnel over the years but there are a few faces you'll remember. Maggie can I get visitor badges?" Tom requested. "You'll need to sign in too."

"What happened to Poppy?" Sara inquired.

"She eloped with fireman about three weeks ago. But since she never took any of her leave before she's entitled a long vacation. She'll be back in a couple of weeks. So Nick what do you do?" Tom inquired as he led them back into the lab.

"I'm a CSI too." Nick replied.

"Where are you from Texas?" Tom guessed.

"Yes."

"Any relation to Justice Stokes?"

"He's my father. Why do you know him?"

"No but I know your sister-in-law Erin, she gave a paper at a conference I went to."

"Small world." Nick replied.

"I could probably tell it was about to get smaller." Tom stated.

"How's that?" Sara inquired.

"We were just getting ready to e-mail your boss."

"Grissom?" Sara questioned.

"We have a bug related case and we thought that since he's the nearest forensic entomologist he might have a few minutes to look at some thing for us."

"Maybe we could help." Nick offered. "If you work with Grissom long enough you learn more than you ever wanted to about bugs."

"You don't have to do that." Tom said.

"Tom, if we can't figure it out give us a copy of everything you have and we'll take it back to Grissom, he's more of a tactile file person than an e-mail person anyway." Sara interrupted.

"If you're sure."

"As Sara why she doesn't eat meat anymore." Nick suggested.

"You're a vegetarian? We used to go out for steaks after cases." Tom recalled.

"If you sit around with Grissom watching flies swarm on a dead pig wrapped in a blanket for days the smell would make you a vegetarian as well." Sara stated.

"Okay."

TBC


	99. Chapter 99

"I'll be right back." Sara excused herself when she saw someone she recognised and wanted to say hello to.

"Okay." Nick agreed.

"You know I thought someone told you that you shouldn't wear red and orange together." Sara said as she stood in the doorway.

"Well she left town to help out on a case and never came back." The woman looked up. "Hey Sara."

"Becky." Sara smiled. "It's been a while."

"How's Vegas?"

"Still sin city." Sara replied. "But I like it."

"Who's the cute guy with Tom?" Becky inquired looking out the window.

"That would be Nick." Sara replied.

"Where's he from? What's he do? And does he know his butt looks that good in jeans."

"He's from Texas. He's a CSI in Vegas and watch the comments about his butt, he's my husband."

"You did well for yourself girl. And if there are more like that in Vegas I might just put in for a transfer myself."

"I would say he's one of a kind, but he has a brother and five sisters. They're all pretty much alike."

"Big family." Becky said.

"Nick's the youngest and his Mom managed to have seven kids and be a public defender."

"That's some woman." Becky agreed. "So what brought you back to town?"

"Subpoena." Sara replied. "We've got a flight out tonight so we can be back at work by midnight. But I thought I'd stop by and check up on the place. Now we're going to give Tom a hand with his bug case."

"You work with that bug guy."

"Grissom." Sara supplied. "We've learnt a lot from him. If we can't help, we'll take the information back to him. Grissom's usually pretty good with consults."

"I can see why you stayed in Vegas." Becky said.

"Nick and I have only been together less than a year. But was a good friend before that. You know what they say about marrying your best friend."

"How long have you been married?"

"Two days." Sara replied.

"And you're not in the Caribbean on honeymoon?"

"Since Nick's family is all in Texas, we're going to have a little thing there in a few months and go on honeymoon then." Sara explained watching Nick and Tom interact.

"Anywhere nice?" Becky inquired.

"I don't know. Nick's planning it as a surprise. All I know is I need to get a passport."

"Sounds like fun." Becky guessed. "You know we had a case you'd like last year."

"What kind of case?"

"Two dead guys with the sea lions and guess what?"

"The sea lions didn't kill them; they just batted them around a bit." Sara answered. "Billy sent me an e-mail complete with pictures."

"He always did like you better than me."

"I didn't kick him when he gave me a tetanus shot." Sara stated. Billy was one of the medical examiners, who'd had to give had to give Becky a tetanus shot after she'd cut herself and refused to go to hospital for stitches when she had someone perfectly capable of doing it there.

"So we've been stood here talking for the last five minutes, are you going to introduce me to him or do I have to do it myself?" Becky inquired.

"Just remember hands off he's mine." Sara warned.

"Yes sir." Becky joked and followed Sara out into the hall.

"Nick, I'd like you to meet Becky Lassitar. Becky, my husband Nick Stokes."

"It's nice to meet you." Nick shook her hand.

"You too and that's a great accent."

"Thanks." Nick replied.

"Just ignore her, Becky is a terrible flirt." Sara told him.

"But she's a great toxicologist." Tom added.

"Does that mean I get a pay rise boss?" Becky inquired.

"The county authorises pay raises not me." Tom reminded her.

"I'll remember that the next time I get called in to pull triple shifts."

"That was only twice and because we had an epidemic of poisonings and drug overdoses." Tom countered.

"Nick, it was nice to meet you. Sara, call more often and remember to say goodbye this time. I should get back to work I'm covering DNA as well today." Becky stated.

"Thank you Becky." Tom replied.

TBC


	100. Chapter 100

Sara tapped on Grissom's office door.

"Sara, come in." Grissom said when he looked up to see who had knocked.

"Thanks."

"Please take a seat." Grissom suggested. "How did it go?"

"Testifying was lousy; I got to speak to my mother afterwards and told her what I have wanted to say for years. But before you ask how I'm dealing with it, I'm still working that one out."

"Okay." Grissom took off his glasses. "I take it Nick found you."

"He did. It was nice to show him some of San Francisco."

"That's good."

"But that wasn't why I dropped by."

"It wasn't."

"There are two reasons. First I need you to sign off on these." Sara handed him some paperwork. "Change of address that kind of thing."

"Okay." Grissom agreed. "And the other reason?"

"I also took Nick to see the lab in San Francisco. As it turns out Tom my former boss was about to e-mail you. They had an interesting case and some bugs that they can't identify. Nick and I tried to help but it was beyond us."

"So he's going to e-mail me." Grissom concluded.

"Actually I brought you back a file; if you could take a look at it he'd be grateful."

"Is there contact information in there?" Grissom asked.

"Front page." Sara replied.

"I'll take a look after, I've given out assignments." Grissom agreed.

"Thank you."

CSI CSI

"Hey guys." Nick walked into the break room.

"How was San Francisco?" Warrick inquired.

"It's a great city. Great beach, Pier 31, Golden Gate Bridge." Nick replied.

"I was actually talking about Sara, it's good that you had a chance to play tourist."

"She's still processing, but she had a chance to get a few things off her chest." Nick sat down. "I did meet the perfect woman for you Greg."

"You get married and now you're trying to set your friends up." Warrick joked.

"I don't care. Tell me more." Greg sounded intrigued.

"Her names Becky, I'd guess she's around thirty. Brown hair, brown eyes, odd fashion sense. Big flirt."

"Sounds good what does she do?"

"Toxicologist." Nick replied.

"What were you chatting women up on the plane?" Warrick asked.

"No. Sara took me to where she used to work after all the tourist spots. That's the one downside she lives in San Francisco."

"It's not that far." Greg stated.

"What's the lab like?" Warrick inquired.

"Small, but they're good people."

"Nick telling you about his brush with death?" Sara asked from the doorway.

"Brush with death?" Greg questioned.

"There was a very minor earthquake." Sara replied.

"Earthquake?"

"It was barely a 2.5, probably less." Sara stated.

"Says the girl from California." Nick countered.

"It's when the big one hits you have to worry. We used to have earthquake drills at one of the schools I went to."

"Nick was just telling us about your friend Becky." Greg pointed out.

"Becky is great. Although no-one can convince her that wearing red and orange together is a bad idea."

"Catherine has a red and orange dress." Warrick pointed out.

"Trust me these are the wrong shades. But that's Becky." She shrugged.

"What did Grissom say?" Nick asked Sara.

"He's going to take a look at it."

"Do we want to know?"

"Tom, my former boss, was going to e-mail Grissom and ask him for a consult. We took a look and couldn't identify the bug so we brought back a file." Sara explained.

"You can't take her anywhere." Warrick rolled his eyes.

TBC


	101. Chapter 101

Sara slipped her engagement ring onto her necklace and hung it around her neck. Once making sure it was secure, she swept her hair up into a ponytail and tied it with a rubber band.

Sara adjusted her over overalls and took a breath.

"Let's do this." She said as she walked into the garage.

"Aren't we all geared up?" Greg joked.

"It's nice to be home."

"You consider Las Vegas home?"

"Yes." Sara replied. "Why?"

"You're from California."

"But I've lived here for the last five years. San Francisco is a great city, and if I ever want to go back I have an open job offer but I like Vegas despite all the odd people who come through here. Now do you want the front seat or the back?"

"You know I'm a back seat kid of a guy Sara." Greg winked at her.

"I'll let that one slide." Sara replied. "But when you're done, I'll check underneath."

"I always like a girl who knows her engines."

"Greg flirting with me didn't work before I got married; it certainly isn't going to work now."

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Greg shrugged.

"You can, but just do your job."

"You really are in a good mood."

"Twelve hours ago, I was on a beach having a picnic in the sunshine. I'm good."

"So you're just going to ignore that you had to see your mother?" Greg asked.

"I'll deal with it in my own time." Sara replied. "Just look for evidence."

CSI CSI

Sara was sat examining something under the microscope when she felt someone watching her. She looked over.

"Hey cowboy."

"Hey." Nick replied. "So how long are you going to be here?"

"A few more hours, I just want to take a look at a few things."

"Okay." Nick agreed.

"How long are you going to be here?" Sara asked.

"I'm almost done for the night." Nick replied.

"So you're going to head home and get some sleep since you didn't get much yesterday?"

"Probably." Nick nodded.

"I'll be home before lunch." Sara assured him.

"Just out of curiosity is there any chance that you were under a car today?"

"Yes. Why?" Sara inquired.

"You have oil across your cheek."

"What?"

Nick walked over and wiped his thumb over her cheek and held it up to her.

"That was four hours ago."

"Greg didn't mention anything?" Nick asked.

"No."

Nick couldn't help but smile.

"Stand here while I go and kill him." Sara requested.

"How about I stand here while you go and wash the rest of it off and then I'll track Greg down and kill him?"

"I knew there was a reason I married you, I'll be right back. If you want to see if you can identify what's under the scope while I'm gone that would be great."

Nick was looking through the microscope when he heard Greg's voice.

"I got those test results back Sara and…" Greg stopped. "Not Sara."

"No." Nick confirmed. "I'm supposed to kill you."

"I'm sorry. It was completely harmless."

"What was?" Nick asked just to clarify.

"Flirting with her earlier, I've always done it."

"I was supposed to kill you for letting her walk around with an oil smudge on her cheek for hours." Nick explained.

"Right that. I was just seeing how long it took for her to notice."

"Let's just say she's not happy." Nick replied. "And about the flirting."

"I apologised."

"I was just going to say I know it's harmless. It doesn't bother me."

"Good." Greg let out a sigh of relief. "Sara's coming back?"

"In a minute."

"Give her these and tell her I went to talk to Doc Robbins again." He handed Nick the file.

"Okay." Nick agreed.

TBC


	102. Chapter 102

"Hi honey I'm home." Nick said when Sara came in the door.

"I think you have your I Love Lucy lines mixed up." Sara suggested. "Ugh." Sara collapsed on the couch.

"Hard night at the office dear?" Nick inquired.

"I need new shoes."

"Why?"

"Greg and I had to walk two miles searching the side of the highway. I think I have a blister." Sara slipped her shoes off.

"Want a foot rub?" Nick offered.

"That would be great." Sara agreed.

"How'd the case turn out?"

"We're still working on it. There is no reason that car went off the road."

"The vic didn't just fall asleep at the wheel?" Nick asked.

"I don't think so. Witnesses said she was driving normally and then just suddenly went off the road. The brakes were working fine, no drugs or toxins in her system."

"You'll figure it out." Nick assured her.

"I hope so. Grissom figured out Tom's problem."

"Good." Nick replied.

"As good as that feels how about we just go to bed?" Sara suggested.

"I like the way think Mrs Stokes."

"You like the sound of that don't you?"

"It has a nice ring to it." He pulled her closer and kissed her.

CSI CSI

Sara's cell phone ringing woke her up. It was a little after 3pm when she glanced at the clock. She slipped out of Nick's grip and slipped on his shirt and did up the buttons as she walked out to grab her cell phone.

"Hello." She answered yawning.

"_Hey Sara_."

"Greg it's 3pm."

"_Actually it's 11 minutes past."_ Greg corrected.

"Greg we work Graveyard. 3pm is like 3am for most people and considering that fact that I'd been up for 38 hours and Nick had been up for longer than that we were trying to sleep."

"_Sorry."_ Greg apologised.

"Since you've woken me up do you want to tell me why you're calling?"

"_I've had an epiphany."_

"That's great find a priest."

"_I meant about the case."_

"And it couldn't have waited until I'd slept more than a few hours?"

"_You're usually the first one to jump on board when we have a case."_

"I occasionally like to sleep too." Sara pointed out.

"_Maybe I should call you back later."_

"You've woken me up now; tell me what your epiphany was." Sara sat down on the couch she felt a little awkward considering what she had on and wished she had taken time to put on some underwear.

Greg filled her in on his idea.

"I'll meet you at the lab in an hour, I need to get dressed and eat something." Sara hung up.

Nick was sprawled out across the bed when Sara re-entered the bedroom. She went to the closet and grabbed some clean clothes.

"Who was on the phone?" Nick inquired.

"Greg." Sara replied. "Sorry I was trying not to wake you."

"I woke up the minute you got out of bed. What did he want?"

"He had an epiphany."

"Find him a priest." Nick muttered.

"About the case. I told him I'd meet him at the lab in an hour."

"You've only slept for a few hours." Nick pointed out.

"I'll be fine. You should go back to sleep." Sara gave him a quick kiss.

"And you should come back to bed." Nick tugged her against him and rolled over so he was pinning her to the bed.

"I promised Greg."

"He can have you in 8 hours."

"This should only take a few hours; I'll try and come back. It's a case Nick."

"Okay." Nick conceded.

TBC


	103. Chapter 103

"Did you and Sara have fight?" Warrick asked Nick as they walked into the break room.

"No. Why do you ask?"

"She's asleep on the couch."

"Greg." Nick muttered.

"What about Greg?" Warrick asked.

"They worked a shift and a half. They walked a couple miles on the highway looking for evidence. We were trying to catch up on some sleep since we'd been up since we went to San Francisco. Greg called at about 3 to tell Sara he'd had an epiphany on their case, so Sara being Sara got up to meet him. She was supposed to come home when she was done but she…"

"Fell asleep on the couch."

"Exactly." Nick replied. Nick walked over and crouched down next to her. "Hey darlin' time to wake up." He shook her slightly.

"Five more minutes." Sara mumbled.

"Five more minutes and you'll be late for work." Nick told her.

Sara slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. It took her half a minute to realise where she was.

"I was supposed to come home."

"It's okay."

"I just lay down for a minute." Sara yawned.

"This is why you need to learn to say no to Greg."

"What time is it?"

"11.50." Nick replied.

"I'm going to get changed I'm crinkled." Sara got up. "Hey Warrick."

"Hey girl. Did you at least solve your case?"

"Yes. Can you pour me some coffee for when I get back? Greg made it when he was here." Sara requested.

"Where is Greg anyway?" Nick inquired.

"He must have left. I haven't seen him since about 6. I'll be back as soon as changed." Sara gave Nick a quick kiss.

"Need to change already?" Catherine question as she came as she was pulling on a clean shirt.

"I fell asleep on the couch in the break room in the other one and it was crinkled."

"Did you and Nick have a fight or something?" Catherine asked.

"No. Greg woke me up at 3, he had an epiphany about our case, so I stupidly agreed to come in when I'd had about 2 hours sleep in 36 hours and I sat down on the couch to for two minutes before I went home and I fell asleep."

"Good thing Nick knows you're a workaholic."

"Nick was the one who woke me up five minutes ago. I had Greg make coffee earlier so there should be some of the decent stuff around." Sara told her and she swept her hair up so she didn't have to deal with the mess sleeping on it had made of her curls.

"That's a good reason not kill him." Catherine pointed out.

"I know." Sara closed her locker.

…

"Okay Sara, Greg finish up the case you're working."

"Case closed." Greg said.

"Closed?" Grissom questioned.

"Get Greg to explain his fit of genius later." Sara suggested. "We just need an hour to pull our reports together."

"Okay." Grissom agreed.

"I like the word genius." Greg smiled.

"Just keep making the coffee." Sara countered.

"Moving on. Nick, Catherine I hope you feel up to a little drive. A man shot a Coyote."

"Please don't tell me it was another guy dressed up in a coyote suit." Catherine begged.

"No, this is a formerly live coyote, but it had a human arm in its mouth."

"That's going to be a big search area." Nick said.

"Call in the rookies if you need help." Grissom suggested.

"Warrick you're with me. Three dead at a scrabble tournament."

"Dead isn't a lot of points. Obviously someone was big on triple word scores."

"Sara, Greg finish your report. There is a fire at a house near Henderson; it's going to be several hours before they get it out."

"Okay." Sara acknowledged.

TBC


	104. Chapter 104

"Nick." The receptionist stopped him as he walked by a few weeks later.

"Yes?"

"Is Sara back yet?" She inquired.

"No, the scene is pretty big she won't be back for a few hours yet. Why?"

"She has a visitor. I told her Sara wasn't here but she said she'd wait."

"Did she give a name?" Nick inquired.

"No. She's sat over there."

"Thanks." Nick walked over to where the woman was waiting. He instantly recognised her. "Mrs Sidle."

"Nick." She responded.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting to see my daughter."

"Sara's out on a case she won't be back for hours." Nick told her.

"I'll wait." She responded.

"Why are you here?" Nick asked.

"I told you I want to see my daughter."

"Sara told you she didn't want to see you." Nick said sitting down.

"She was angry." Laura Sidle stated.

"She's still angry, and I'm pretty certain she doesn't want to see you."

"I'll wait." Laura insisted.

"Do you want some coffee?" Nick inquired. The manners his mother had drilled meant he couldn't just leave his mother-in-law sitting there.

"That would be great." Laura agreed.

"Come on back. I'll just get you a visitors pass."

Nick poured her some coffee and excused himself for a few minutes.

He stepped far enough away from the break room so she couldn't hear his conversation, but not far enough away that he couldn't watch her after all she was a convicted murderer.

He was just hanging up his cell phone when Grissom walked up to him.

"Who is that woman in the break room? She looks familiar." Grissom inquired.

"Laura Sidle. Sara's Mom."

"I thought she was…"

"She apparently got out." Nick cut in.

"What's she doing here?" Grissom inquired.

"She wants to see Sara."

"Sara's out in the field."

"I know. I'm waiting for Vega to call me back; they wouldn't just let a convicted murderer out without putting them on parole."

"You think she breeched her parole?" Grissom asked.

"I don't know." Nick replied. "I thought I should check."

"She can't stay in the break room."

"If she breeched her parole I'll get some down to arrest her, otherwise I'll talk her into leaving and figure out something with Sara." Nick stated.

CSI

Nick hopped out of is Denali.

"Hey Nicky." Catherine who was stood by her Denali said. "Come to help?"

"Actually I need to talk to Sara."

"Everything okay?"

"She had a visitor at the lab she's not going to like." Nick replied. "Any ideas where she is?"

"Around the back." Catherine replied.

"Thanks."

Nick walked around the house and found Sara examining something.

"Find something interesting?" Nick inquired.

"Hey." Sara turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you for a minute."

"Sounds serious."

"Your mother came by the lab." Nick started.

"She what?"

"She came by the lab; she wanted to talk to you. She insisted on waiting, she was there for a few hours before I found out about it."

"She got out." Sara said.

"The appeals court reduced her sentence and she got paroled."

"Paroled." Sara repeated.

"I had Vega check, she's in breech of that parole. They took her into custody; they talked to her parole officer. They're going to arrange for to be transported back to the State Penn at more reasonable hour of morning."

"Okay." Sara nodded.

"I thought you'd rather hear this from me."

"Thanks. Did she say what she wanted?"

"Only that she wanted to talk to you. I'm sorry." Nick apologised.

"Not many people can say they got their mother-in-laws arrested for breaking their parole." Sara said. "Thanks for coming to tell me in person."

"Need some help?"

"No we're almost done here." Sara replied. "But thanks for the offer. You should head back."

"Okay, but I'll be around if want to talk."

TBC


	105. Chapter 105

"How's your night going?" Warrick asked. "Hopefully better than mine."

"You tell me yours I'll tell you mine."

"A five year old stabbed his passed out drunk father with a kitchen knife and then his mother stabbed him a few more times to cover it up and called the police saying someone must have broken in." Warrick stated.

"Okay you win. I only got my mother-in-law arrested and then had to go and tell Sara about it." Nick leant against the edge of the counter.

"You got your mother-in-law arrest? I thought she was still in…"

"She got paroled, and then turned up at the lab to see Sara. I had Vega check it out while I made her coffee and she's in breach of her parole and she is in custody awaiting transport back to San Francisco in the morning." Nick explained.

"What did Sara say?"

"That most guys wish that they could get their mother-in-laws arrested." Nick replied. "I think she was in slight shock."

"Why was she even here?"

"All she would say is she wanted to talk to Sara. Sara told her that she didn't want anything to do with her when we saw her at the trial." Nick sighed.

"So what now?"

"Back to work until she wants to talk about it." Nick shrugged.

CSI CSI

"So he got your mother arrested?" Catherine said as they drove back to the lab.

"For violating her parole." Sara confirmed.

"How do you feel about that?"

"Nick did what he was supposed to do. He checked that she wasn't violating parole and when he found she was he had her taken in to custody."

"I mean her being in town." Catherine clarified.

"I don't know. I told her to stay away from me."

"You could go and see what she wanted." Catherine suggested.

"What would I say to her?"

"Just ask her what was so important that she broke her parole to come all the way here to see you."

"She's getting transported back to San Francisco first thing in four hours."

"We know a police Captain who could pull a few strings so you could talk to her. If not we work for the Clark County Sheriff he owes me a few favours." Catherine suggested.

"I don't know if I want to talk to her." Sara admitted.

"Well you have four hours."

"You know at her original trial she insisted it was self defence. Stabbing someone once is self defence, 23 times is murder."

"It's up to you." Catherine told her. "Maybe hearing her out my ease the bitterness."

"Let's just see how the case goes when we get back to the lab."

"Okay." Catherine left her deal with it her own way.

CSI CSI

"She's being transported in less than thirty minutes. I'm sorry." The guard apologised.

"Okay." Sara gave up.

"Wait a second." Brass put his hand on her arm. "Look it's her mother; she broke her parole to come here to see her daughter. Can't you give her five minutes to find out what she wanted?"

"Who exactly are you?" The guard asked.

"Captain Jim Brass Las Vegas PD."

"You'll vouch for her?"

"She's a county employee; she works for the crime lab." Brass pointed out.

"Five minutes." He conceded.

"Thanks Jim." Sara said.

"That's what friends are for."

CSI

"Sara." Her mother said.

"Mom." Sara turned around her look at her mother who was chained ready to go leave.

"Come to gloat that you're husband got me arrested?"

"Nick had to check that you were violating parole, otherwise he could have been suspended. He did the right thing. You're the one who left California when you were on parole, you're the one who is going back to jail so don't blame Nick for this." Sara crossed her arms. "Since I had to get a friend to pull some strings for me to be here. Do you want to tell me why you're here?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Well you've got two minutes before they throw me out."

TBC


	106. Chapter 106

"Are you okay Sara?" Brass inquired when Sara walked out wiping tears from her cheeks.

"Did you have ever had every good childhood memory shattered?" Sara asked.

"No."

"There weren't that many good ones in the first place. She had the nerve to blame this all on Nick. He was just doing what he was supposed to; she's the one who broke her parole when personally I didn't think she should be out in the first place. Hopefully she'll stay away from me like I asked when she gets out again."

"If she doesn't I'll help you get a restraining order." Brass offered.

"Thanks."

"Do you want to go and get some coffee before I drive you home?" Brass asked.

"I need to go back to the lab where things make sense."

"I thought you said your case didn't make sense."

"Yet." Sara finished for him. "It's my job to make it make sense. However screwed my life gets the science always makes sense in the end. I need to go back to the lab."

"We need to make a stop at Starbucks on the way back, I need some decent coffee."

"Okay." Sara agreed.

CSI CSI

"Hey Cowboy." Sara said as she walked into the layout room where Nick was working.

"Hey how did it go with your Mom?"

"I faced my demons." Sara replied.

"And?"

"If I let them get to me they win. All the therapy in the world won't solve it."

"You can always call my sister." Nick suggested. "Having your own shrink in the family sometimes comes in handy."

"I'm going deal with this the best way I know."

"We're leaving at 4. A double is enough and we need to get some sleep before we're back at midnight." Nick told her knowing that immersing her self in her work was Sara's way of dealing with it.

"I'll see you later."

"I'll be around when you need me." Nick assured her.

"Thanks."

"Sara back yet?" Warrick asked when he came into the room a little while later. He'd stuck around to finish writing up his report.

"A while ago." Nick replied.

"How did it go?"

"Not well, she's throwing herself into work so she doesn't have to deal with it."

"That's not a solution." Warrick stated.

"It's her coping mechanism. Pushing her into talking about it when she doesn't want to is a lousy idea. She'll talk when she's ready." Nick sighed.

"If you need to talk man, I'm around. Or I will be tonight I'm heading out."

"Thanks man." Nick replied. "Have a nice day."

"You too."

CSI CSI

"Hey ready to go?" Nick leant against the door frame.

"Just got to check this all back into evidence." Sara replied. "What's that smell?"

"Chinese." Nick held up the bag he carried in his hand. "I skipped lunch so I thought we should at least eat something before we hit the sack."

"What did you get?" Sara asked.

"All your favourites."

"You're going to eat lots of vegetables?" Sara queried.

"I hear they're good for you." Nick shrugged.

"And…" Sara prompted.

"I got some Szechwan Prawns."

"If you want to grab my jacket and purse from my locker." Sara suggested.

"I'll meet you out front." Nick told her.

"Five minutes."

"Five minutes." Nick agreed.

TBC


	107. Chapter 107

"Nick, can you stay behind a moment?" Grissom requested after he handed out assignments.

"Sure Gris." Nick stayed sat down as the others left. "So what did you need?"

"Off the record, how is Sara?"

"She's dealing with the situation the only way she knows how."

"Does she need an appointment with the department counsellor?"

"I think she'll be okay, pushing her into something like that wouldn't work. If she wants to talk to them she'll make the appointment."

"If there is anything I need to know." Grissom said.

"We'll let you know. Sara will work through it by throwing herself into work."

"Okay." Grissom then handed him an envelope.

"What's this?"

"Your leave date confirmation. Sara's as well."

"Thanks." Nick replied. "I guess I can book the tickets now."

CSI

Nick finally managed to catch up with Sara later that night.

"Hey."

"Hey." Sara turned her head and smiled at him.

"Do you have a minute?" Nick asked.

"If you can talk while I check this for prints." Sara replied.

"I think I can handle that." Nick agreed.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"We got our leave approved for next month." Nick told her.

"That's good."

"I'll call Mom in the morning and let her know she can go ahead with the plans."

"Sounds good." Sara agreed.

"You could sound a little more enthusiastic." Nick pointed out.

"Sorry. I didn't sleep very well."

"I know." Nick replied. "What I came to ask you was if you still didn't have any idea where you want to go on honeymoon?"

"You said you wanted to plan it as a surprise. Honestly I'll be happy with wherever you pick, I have a passport."

"You even managed to get a decent picture which for a passport is almost unheard of."

"I was just having a good day." Sara replied. "And I've got prints."

"That's good." Nick looked at them. "They look good."

"Hopefully they are in the system."

"I'll leave you too it."

"Thanks Nick."

"I'll see you later."

CSI

"Cath, can I ask you a question?" Nick inquired later.

"Depends on what it is." Catherine responded.

"If you could have gone anywhere on your honeymoon where would it have been?"

"Somewhere hot that wasn't a desert, with a beach." Catherine replied.

"Right."

"But Sara would probably prefer something else."

"Any ideas?"

"We actually talked about it when she was telling me she didn't have a passport a while back."

"And?" Nick prompted.

"Where do you want to go?" Catherine asked.

"I don't know." Nick admitted.

"You two are going to have fun planning family vacations in the future." Catherine smiled.

"Cath…"

"Sara said she's always wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. Do with that information what you will. But get back to work." Catherine gave him a break.

"I'm waiting on Hodges and Mia for test results." Nick replied.

TBC


	108. Chapter 108

"What exactly am I packing here?" Sara said looking at the closet.

"Underwear." Nick suggested. "Not that I mind if you don't."

"Since I presume we'll be going out at some point, I need a general weather report."

"Well Dallas will still be warm." Nick replied.

"Since I need my passport, we're going out of the country but I need a temperature guide. If we're going anywhere with snow, I have nothing to wear."

"It should be reasonable weather, probably colder than Vegas. It might rain, so bring a few sweaters and some pants. A jacket maybe, but I'll doubt you need a thick coat. If you do we'll buy one." Nick told her.

"That was helpful."

"How does not on this continent help?" Nick asked.

"You should pack too." Sara suggested.

"It won't take long; I'll just empty the drawers and throw in my suit and a tie."

"What exactly are you planning to wear for the wedding?" Sara asked.

"It's Texas, so I was thinking jeans, a plaid shirt and my cowboy hat." He teased.

"You do and I'll take Greg on our honeymoon." Sara threatened.

"Don't worry I'll look good for you darlin'." Nick winked at her.

"Go and see if there is a game of something on, while I pack, this could take a while."

"Just remember you have a two bag checked allowance and they can only weigh 50lbs each otherwise by the time the whole trip is over we're going to pay a lot in excess baggage charges."

"Well since you're only planning on taking one bag, I can always fill up your second bag." Sara winked at him.

"Right." Nick said.

"Nick, I was kidding. I'm pretty low maintenance. I don't pack everything but the kitchen sink."

"We went on a weekend trip when I was a kid, we had to take two cars obviously my sisters all took two bags each."

"You can take them to the lab and have David weigh them on the scales if you like." Sara offered.

"I'll pass. Have fun."

In the end Sara only half filled both suitcases, working on the theory that they would probably buy things that would take up the remainder of their luggage allowance. She added overnight things and a spare change of clothes and underwear to her hand luggage bag on the off chance that the airline lost her luggage she would have at least something to change into. With her makeup bag in her hand luggage she was covered.

"Hey Nick." Sara said as she walked out room.

"How's it going?"

"Just fine. Did you get travellers cheques?" Sara inquired.

"Yes. I also exchanged several hundred dollars worth of currency and I thought we'd take our credit cards that are actually covered if they get stolen abroad."

"Good."

"Warrick is going to come and feed the fish and keep an eye on the house." Nick added.

"So you've thought it out then."

"Well you only get to go on one honeymoon."

"How many people come to Vegas on a second honeymoon?" Sara asked.

"I promise I'll never bring you to Vegas on a second honeymoon." Nick assured her.

"That's good because I've seen the bad side of the city and it makes a lousy vacation spot." Sara joked.

Nick took her hand and tugged her gently into his lap.

"Plus I'm a lousy gambler."

"You took a chance on me." Nick pointed out.

"You were a safe bet." Sara kissed him.

"Why do you think I'm a safe bet?" Nick asked.

"You have a lousy poker face."

"I have a lousy poker face." Nick started to tickle her.

"We have to go to work in an hour." Sara reminded him. "You still haven't packed."

"We don't leave until tomorrow afternoon." Nick pointed out.

"If we get tied up, you won't make it home in time to pack." Sara countered.

"Are you going to help?" Nick inquired.

"I could be persuaded." Sara responded.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Sara kissed him. "Now pack."

"I would but I have this heavy wait in my lap."

"I'll give you heavy." Sara tickled him.

TBC


	109. Chapter 109

"So how many bags is she taking?" Warrick asked. "Last girl I took a trip with took six bags and we were only going for the weekend."

"Two." Nick replied. "And hand luggage."

"You're telling me you're going away for ten days and she's only taking two suitcases?" Warrick questioned.

"And they are only half full." Sara supplied walking in.

"You managed to half fill two suitcases for ten days?" Warrick asked.

"Yes."

"How exactly did you manage that?" Warrick queried.

"I learnt to pack light at a young age. I split what I wanted to pack evenly as possible between the bags in case they loose them in transit." Sara shrugged.

"It's still a little strange."

"What's a little strange?" Catherine asked as she walked in.

"Sara only packed the equivalent of one suitcase." Warrick explained.

"It's a honeymoon. Most people spend the majority of their honeymoons in their hotel rooms where clothing is optional." Catherine pointed out.

"Oh God." Sara said spitting the mouthful of coffee she had just taken back into her cup. "Where's Greg?"

"You didn't hear about his little accident?" Warrick asked.

"Accident?" Sara questioned.

"He was trying to flirt with a woman in a store and walked backwards into a box of something the shelf stack was putting out. Mildly sprained his ankle, so he's going to be stuck in the lab for a few days, but he's taking the night off to ice it." Warrick explained.

"He's never going to hear the end of this one." Nick said. "And we get lousy coffee for the night."

"Hold that thought." Sara suggested as she slipped off her shoes and climbed up on the counter.

"What are you doing?" Catherine asked.

"I know where Greg hides his stash." Sara replied. She grabbed the bag of coffee.

"Greg told you where he hides it?" Nick inquired.

"No. I just happened to be walking by when I saw him put it up there last night."

"Here." Nick helped her down.

"Thanks. I'll make the coffee."

"How does anyone survive on this?" Catherine asked helping by pouring the old pot down the drain.

"They hit Starbucks." Warrick suggested.

Sara was putting the coffee back when Grissom entered the room.

"Do I want to ask?" Grissom inquired.

"Just hiding Greg's stash." Sara responded as Nick helped her down again.

"We now have decent coffee again." Catherine said. "Rather than the toxic sludge that was here before."

"I presume all of you have already heard about Greg's little accident. He'll be back tomorrow."

"Do we know exactly what he fell over?" Nick inquired.

"I believe it was a box of Pringles." Grissom replied. "I don't know which flavour."

"I don't think that matters." Sara stated as she poured herself some of the freshly brewed coffee.

"As to assignments. Catching up on paperwork seems to be the task for tonight."

"No cases?" Warrick asked.

"It appears to be a slow day in Vegas. Days only had one case, swing shift had no cases so are all caught up on all their paperwork and since we were caught up on everything we have paperwork too."

"That can't be a good sign." Catherine said.

"The calm before the storm." Warrick muttered.

"It could be a good thing that no-one killed anyone today." Sara pointed out.

"Or no-one that anyone knows about yet." Nick countered.

"Oh the storm is coming it always does." Catherine sighed.

Just then they could hear a loud crack outside.

"I think they took you a little too literally." Warrick stated.

"Did they say anything about a storm on the weather?" Nick asked.

"No." Catherine replied.

"As long as it clears up in the next fourteen hours and our flight isn't cancelled. I'm not in the mood for an 18 and a half hour road trip." Sara said.

"And it's just bad form to be late for your own wedding." Catherine added. "Well not the bride, she's allowed to be late but the groom?" She shrugged.

TBC


	110. Chapter 110

Nick slid past Sara out of his seat careful to not wake her as he headed to the bathroom on the plane. He was grateful that he had chosen business class for their entire trip except the two trans-Atlantic flights which he'd booked first class tickets so they would have plenty of leg room.

"Sir, you'll need to take your seat. The Captain is about to turn on the fasten seatbelt sign. We'll be landing in a few minutes." The flight attendant told Nick as he returned from the bathroom.

"Okay."

Nick returned to his seat and put on his seat belt.

"Sara." He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. "Time to wake up." He gave her a quick kiss.

"Try that again." Sara opened her eyes and looked at him.

"They are going to turn on the seatbelt sign in a few minutes so we can land." Nick told her.

"Thanks." Sara stretched. "Sorry I was such a lousy travelling companion."

"I was asleep for most of the flight too." Nick told her. "And it was only a couple hours."

"So do you want to get married tomorrow?" Sara asked.

"I don't know, I think I'm having second thoughts." Nick joked.

"You'd better be kidding. I know how to hide a body."

"What are you going to do throw me in a vat of acid?" Nick inquired.

"You know as well as I do that that never works out as well as it sounds. There are a lot better ways to get away with murder."

"You're right finding a vat of acid is always a problem." He winked at her.

"An icicle is much easier and will melt. You can't match marks to something that doesn't exist any more."

"So if I make you mad I should keep you away from the freezer or the North Pole?"

"I'm not like my mother. I wouldn't kill you." Sara assured him.

"Good."

"I'd leave it to Greg or Warrick." She winked at him.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain. I have switched on the fasten your seatbelt sign; please return all seats and trays back to their upright positions as we begin our decent into Dallas-Fort Worth. The temperature is 85F. Welcome to Texas."_

CSI

"Nicky." Erin smiled when she saw them. Nick gave her a hug. "Hey Sara."

"Hey Erin." Sara replied. "I didn't think you were picking us up."

"I wasn't supposed to be, but there was a fatal crash in one of the far parking lots. I was just finishing my shift so I offered to come and okay the removal of the bodies and pick you up."

"So vat of acid or icicle?" Nick asked her.

"I think you need to be more specific." Erin suggested.

"Good ways to murder a cheating spouse." Sara supplied.

"Where exactly are you going to find a vat of acid?" Erin asked. "Buying acid leaves a large paper trail you'd get caught."

"See." Sara said.

"I had a guy that was killed when he fell on the ice sculpture at a wedding; it was a Greek god with a spear. Definitely wasn't pretty. The spear went right through his heart."

"Ouch."

"They were stood there with hairdryers trying to get it to melt, but his body temp melted the piece that was in his chest and stopping him from bleeding to death instantaneously." Erin explained.

"Accidental death." Nick guessed.

"Carrie pleaded it out to manslaughter 3-5 years. He got into a fight with the groom after making a pass at the bride. I don't think jail was where he was planning on spending his wedding night."

"I think I read about that." Sara said.

"Probably it was an interesting case. It got published in a few journals. Don't worry Jillian didn't order an ice-sculpture."

"It would melt in this heat." Nick stated.

"I actually think it's warmer now than when we left Vegas."

"Hence the tent." Erin said.

"Tent?" Nick questioned.

"Jillian doesn't want us to all get heat stroke. It was either a canopy tent or hats. Not that hats are a problem, but I bought a nice dress and I'm not wearing my cowboy hat with it."

"I'd agree with that."

"We've seen your dress, it's gorgeous." Erin assured her.

"I liked it."

"I haven't seen it." Nick pointed out.

"Well I don't know where we're going on honeymoon so call it even." Sara winked at him.

"Are you sure you packed enough?" Erin asked.

"It's enough." Sara assured her.

"I only ever went out of the country once, for my tenth anniversary Andy took me to Hawaii. Nick watched the kids and there was a whole Spaghetti-O incident."

"I thought we were through telling Sara stories about me."

"Where did you get that idea? We have more than enough for the rest of your life." Erin assured him.

"I'm looking forward to it."

TBC


	111. Chapter 111

"Look out boys; it's the Stokes women on mass." The bartender called out when they entered the bar.

Nick's sisters had insisted that Sara deserve a bachelorette party, since their husbands were throwing Nick a party too.

Lara-Jo and Stacey were watching the kids, the younger ones had already been put to bed before they left, the others were watching a movie until it was time to go to bed. They were all spending the night at the main house.

"Ignore him." Jillian told her.

"I'm hurt." The man dramatically held his hand against his chest.

"Sara this Jack Hawkins. He used to be the Chief of Police before he retired and took over this place." Jillian made introductions. "Jack, my daughter-in-law Sara."

"You'd be the one married to Nick."

"That would be me." Sara agreed.

"So what are you doing in town darlin'?" Jack inquired.

"We had a small wedding in Vegas, so we're having a ceremony for the family here before we going on honeymoon."

"You know we should go somewhere else. The service is always so lousy here." Carrie teased.

"You know I could bar you." Jack stated.

"I'd like to see you try." Erin replied. "Remember the last time you tried that."

"So what can I get you ladies to drink?" Jack inquired.

"Do you like Margaritas Sara?" Emily asked.

"Sure." Sara replied.

"We'll have a couple pitchers of margarita and a couple baskets of Buffalo Wings, potato skins and some nachos." Heather ordered.

"There are a couple of booths free in the back, help yourself." Jack told them.

"Thank you Jack." Jillian added.

"You know I could never say no to a pretty lady."

"You managed to find me enough cases to keep the kids in shoes so I think it evens everything out." Jillian pushed herself.

They all took seats around the large booth, a few them pulling up stools so they could all sit together.

Jack brought over two pitchers of margarita and eight glasses. The food would take a few minutes more.

"So where are you going on your honeymoon?" Maggie inquired.

"I honestly don't know." Sara admitted. "Nick planned it as a surprise."

"You really think that is a good idea?" Becky inquired.

"Catherine gave him a suggestion so it shouldn't be too bad." Sara shrugged.

"If it is just spend the week in bed." Erin suggested.

"I'll drink to that." Carrie agreed.

"So any interesting tales of Sin City?" Maggie asked.

"Our friend Greg managed to sprain his ankle walking backwards while trying to pick a woman up in the grocery store and fell over a box of Pringles."

"Ouch." Jillian stated.

"He's fine; he got the night off work to ice it. He'll just stick to the lab tonight, flirt with Mia and annoy Hodgins which is what he does normally anyway."

"How do you like being married?" Heather inquired.

"I'm married to the only person any I know knows that managed to get their mother-in-law sent to jail. I mean I've worked on case where people have killed their mother-in-laws but never sent them to jail."

"He feels guilty about that." Becky pointed out.

"He shouldn't. I keep telling him that. She was the one in the wrong; he just did what he was supposed to do. Then she had the gall to blame Nick for corrupting me and turning me against her when he's the one wanted me to give her a chance."

"She sounds like she needs counselling." Becky suggested.

"As long as she stays away from me, I don't care. She's going to be in jail for another five years anyway."

"Are you certain that's what you want?" Jillian asked.

"It's what I need." Sara replied. "And Nick keeps telling me he's more than willing to share you all."

"There are plenty of us to go around." Maggie agreed.

"I think we should get back to a happier subject." Sara suggested. "How's your pool game?"

"Heather is a hustler." Emily stated. "Bobby corrupted her in college."

"Hustling pool is easy." Sara countered. "Find a short skirt and a pair of heels and a low top guys get too distracted to play a decent game. Besides which pool is all physics."

"I think that sounds like a challenge." Heather said.

"I'm game." Sara agreed.

TBC


	112. Chapter 112

Nick sipped his beer and watched his brother-in-laws play pool.

"How are you doing son?" His father came up and joined him.

"Just fine Dad. It's nice to be back."

"Looking forward to tomorrow?"

"Sure. I always like getting dressed up." Nick replied. "But it's making Mom and Sara happy so I'm fine with it."

"I have to take a leak." Bill Stokes downed the rest of his beer.

Nick glanced at where Bobby was leant against the wall watching them play pool too. Nick got up and walked over and stood next to him.

"Hey man." Nick said.

"Nick."

"What are your intentions towards my sister?" Nick inquired.

"What?"

"Heather. You've met her." Nick replied.

"We're working things out. It's going pretty well."

"You know she didn't want the divorce in the first place."

"What?" That what was louder and got the attention of the others.

"She didn't want the divorce." Nick repeated.

"She's the one who handed me the divorce papers." Bobby reminded him.

"Because you were ignoring her and the kids and always at work. She thought it would shock you out of it and make you pay attention. She never expected you to just sign the papers and walk away."

"I figured she gave me the papers because she wanted a divorce and I wasn't going to make it harder on her or the boys." Bobby stated. "Did she tell you that?"

"No. She told Sara last time we were here. Sara only told me last month."

"I should point out that I knew that." Andy stated.

Bobby looked at the others they all nodded.

"You all knew?" Bobby asked.

"We were told to keep out of it and let the two of you sort it out yourselves." Clint replied.

"None of us expected you to give up with out a fight." Leland added.

"Heather's been crazy about you since the day you literally knocked her off her feet chasing that guy down." Andy pointed out.

"I need to talk to her." Bobby grabbed his hat and rushed out of the bar.

"Where's Bobby running off to?" Bill inquired he had returned just in time to see his former son-in-law rush out the door.

"To talk to Heather." Nick replied. "I figured it was finally time to tell him why he got divorced."

"It's a shame we don't know anyone who can get a marriage licence on short notice." Jack joked.

CSI

"Heather."

"Bobby." Heather turned around surprised to see him. "Did something happen to the boys?"

"No, they're as far as I know. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Heather walked over with Bobby to a free booth. "Is something wrong?"

"Why did you file for divorce?" Bobby asked.

"What?" Heather definitely wasn't expecting that question.

"Why did you file for the divorce?"

"You really want to talk about that now?" Heather asked.

"I need to know."

"You spent hours at the office not that national security isn't important, when you were home you spent most of the time with the boys, they need you around. You ignored me. We never went out unless it was a family thing, you never talked to me about things anymore when I did try to talk to you about it, you shut me out. I couldn't take it anymore, I love you Bobby I always have done, but filing for the divorce was the only way I could come with to give you a big enough hint that there was something wrong. I thought you'd fight me on it, I thought you'd fight for us. I never wanted to get divorced I just wanted you to notice me, to pay attention. But you didn't. You signed the papers, told me I could keep everything as long as you got to see the boys. You didn't fight for us, you let us go."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I figured when you signed the papers you wanted out. So I let you go."

"I thought you wanted out."

"I didn't." Heather replied.

"I think we should get married."

"What?" Heather was stunned.

"Since neither of us wanted to get divorced, I think we should get married. If I ever start to ignore you again you have my permission to hit me over the head."

"Okay." Heather agreed and kissed him.

"We should do it tomorrow." Bobby suggested. "You're whole family will be there anyway."

"Tomorrow is Sara and Nick's day." Heather pointed out.

"Hey Sara." Bobby called out.

"Bobby, hey." Sara walked over. "I didn't realise you were here."

"Would you mind if we got married tomorrow too?" Bobby asked. "If we can sort out a licence and everything."

"Sure." Sara agreed. "Do you have a dress?" She asked Heather.

"I still have my dress from the first time, hopefully it should still fit." Heather replied.

"Then you might want to call Bill and see if he can find someone with a little pull in the county clerk's office and tell your mother." Sara winked at her.

TBC


	113. Chapter 113

Since all of the kids were asleep at the main house and the adults were all farmed out to other houses, Nick and Sara ended up at Nick's grandparent's house. His paternal grandparents had lived at the house while Nick was growing up and had helped in raising the seven kids and the plethora of friends that frequent the Stokes ranch.

They had died before Nick had moved to Las Vegas; they had both died naturally in their sleep.

The house itself was shut up most of the time, since all the seven kids had homes of their own it remained empty. But technically the house was Nick's. Emily and Heather had plots of land to build houses on if they wanted but Emily lived in Houston and Heather preferred to live closer to town rather than on the family ranch. It made things easier, for Bobby when he was called in for work that he wasn't miles out of town.

Since Nick was the baby he had been given his grandparents house, but the others occasionally used it when necessary for example if family came from out of town but most of the time it went unused.

Sara was tipsy when she almost fell into the bedroom. Nick had traded off beer with soda so he hadn't got too drunk.

"Let me help you." Nick went over and scooped her up in his arms.

"My hero." Sara wrapped her arms around her neck.

"You really are drunk aren't you?"

"Margaritas." Sara announced proudly.

"Considering my sisters I shouldn't be surprised."

"Beat three cowboys at pool."

"I bet you did darlin'." Nick deposited her on the bed and started to help her take her ankle boots off.

"Do you know about Heather and Bobby?" Sara asked.

"Are you okay with that?"

"Hey we got married and they shouldn't have gotten divorced in the first place, I think that evens plans out for the day."

"It was about time they figured it out." Nick agreed.

Sara grabbed the front of the t-shirt Nick had put on and pulled him down on top of her. Nick had just enough time to put his hands either side of her head so his full weight didn't hit her.

Sara kissed him.

"How much have you had to drink tonight?" Nick asked. He didn't want to take advantage of her.

"Three margaritas, three virgin margaritas and a shot of tequila." Sara replied. "Don't worry I know what I'm doing."

Sara rolled them over so she was on top her knees straddling Nick's hips. She kissed him then sat up and pulled her top off and flung it on the floor.

"Yes ma'am." Nick replied.

CSI

Nick gently ran his fingers up and down Sara's back. She was asleep half sprawled on top of him, not that Nick minded, he liked having her close by.

He kissed the top of her then groaned at the pounding on the bedroom door.

"Nicky." He heard his sister say.

"Go away. It's not until four."

"We have another wedding and things need to be done." Carried called through the door.

"Come back in an hour." Nick responded.

"Give us fifteen minutes to get dressed." Sara corrected. "We'll meet you at the main house."

"Okay." Carrie conceded.

"You know we could have found something to do with an hour." Nick whispered.

"Nick, there are things to do. Like seeing if we can find Heather's wedding dress." Sarah sat up. "I need to take a shower and get dressed."

"Okay, I'll just go back to sleep."

"Why don't you go and see your baby?" Sarah suggested. "I'm sure she'd like to see you."

"You know that's blackmail." Nick stated.

"What telling you to go and see your horse? Trust me your family has given me plenty of blackmail material if I need it."

Sara gave him a kiss.

"Fine." Nick replied.

"Trust me, it will be worth it." Sara told him. "And you're making your sister's day."

Sara grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt and her underwear and headed for the bathroom.

"Hey Sara."

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too. Get up."

TBC


	114. Chapter 114

Nick was setting out chairs under the canopy when he heard a car pull up. Since the other guests that weren't immediate Stokes family weren't arriving for a few hours, Nick went around the house to investigate.

A tall man was getting out of a rental car.

"Can I help you?" Nick asked.

"Is this the Stokes place?" The man inquired.

"Yes." Nick replied.

"I'm looking for Jillian Stokes or Clint Talbot?" He shifted awkwardly.

Nick turned around; his mother was just coming out the house.

"Mom, you have a visitor." Nick yelled.

"What did I tell you about shouting Nicholas?" Jillian walked over.

"He who shouts loudest gets heard?" Nick joked.

"Howdy." Jillian said to the man.

"I'm Ray we spoke on the phone."

"Of course. I'm Jillian Stokes, I'm glad you found the place alright."

"The directions were pretty good." He shrugged.

"Nick, would you go and get Sara? She's in the kitchen painting your nieces fingernails." Jillian requested.

"Okay." Nick was a little confused as to who the man was.

Nick went inside and returned with Sara a few minutes later.

"Jillian, you wanted to see me?" Sara questioned.

"Hi Star." The man said, Sara's eyes went instantly to him. It took her a second to recognise him.

"Oh my god Ray." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

"It's good to see you." He whispered.

"It's good to see you too." Sara pulled back to look at him. "You got taller."

"So did you." The man stated.

"How did you…?" Sara turned to Jillian.

"It's what family does." Jillian shrugged. "Well I have things to do. The barn should be quiet if you want to catch up for a while."

Nick was still confused as to who exactly the man his wife was hugging.

"Sorry." Sara said noticing the look on Nick's face. "Nick, this is my brother Ray. Ray my husband Nick."

"Nice to meet you." Ray said.

"Yeah you too."

"It's still Ray right?" Sara asked.

"Ray Milton." He replied. "I changed my name."

"I changed mine to Sara as soon as I could." Sara added. "Twenty years is a long time."

"I know." Ray agreed.

"I'll leave you to catch up." Nick said.

"Barn's this way." Sara nodded in the direction of the barn. "I can't believe they found you."

"I can't believe it either I thought I did a pretty good job of hiding my tracks. But it seems your brother-in-law in a good PI."

"The whole family is connected to law enforcement some how." Sara explained. "They're good."

"It seems you landed on your feet." Ray commented.

"Nick and his family are the good kind. It definitely took a lot for me to trust him. But it's worth it."

"His mother invited me to the wedding. She said you were having a wedding for family."

"We got married in Vegas where we live, only Nick's parents and our friends were there. We thought we'd have a wedding for his family and then we're going on honeymoon tomorrow. But last night his sister and her ex-husband decided to get re-married so we're having a wedding for them too." Sara explained. "You know I saw her."

"When?" Ray asked.

"She got a lawyer to convince a judge to give her an appeal on her sentence and I got subpoenaed to testify. Two days after we got married. She got released on parole and turned up where we work, Nick called to check whether she was supposed to have left California he ended up having to get her arrested. She had the gall to blame Nick for everything. So I told her when she gets out to stay away from me. They were looking for you to testify too."

"I guess I managed to keep away that thankfully. I don't want to see her." He paused. "So what happened to you?"

"I got kicked around foster care until I was 18. Then I got a full scholarship to Harvard. I worked as criminalist in the San Francisco's coroner's office before I moved to Vegas to work in their crime lab about five years ago, which is where I met Nick."

"You did well for yourself." Ray agreed.

"What about you?" Sara sat on a bale of hay.

"I rebelled and skipped out of foster care before I was 17. I spent almost ten years drunk and high until I OD'd. I went through detox, changed my name and started over. I've got a wife Sally, four year old twin boys Mark and Paul and little girl on the way. I've got pictures."

"That's great. Where do you live now?"

"Idaho." He replied. "Just outside Twin Falls Idaho."

"That's less than 700 miles away."

TBC


	115. Chapter 115

"So he's here?" Clint said to Jillian.

"Yes."

"How did she take it?"

"Pretty well. I think she was shocked." Jillian replied.

"Mom?" Nick walked over.

"Nicholas." Jillian smiled.

"Where did that come from?"

"I think you need to be a little more specific." Jillian suggested.

"Finding Sara's brother." He crossed his arms.

"Everyone deserves to have some family at their wedding and from what limited conversations I've had with Sara about her family the fact that she lost track of her brother was something that was haunting her."

"We didn't say anything in case I couldn't find him." Clint added. "It took a couple of months to track him down. Some people are trying not to be found."

"Anything I should know?" Nick asked.

"He doesn't have a criminal record if that's what you're asking. He skipped out of foster care at 17, spent ten years high and drunk before he OD'd and went to rehab. He changed his name to Ray Milton. He's an electrician, he has a wife Sally, twin boys and she's about 6 months pregnant. He was a little surprised when I tracked him down."

"I invited him." Jillian said. "Let them catch up."

"Where's he live anyway?" Nick asked.

"Just outside Twin Falls, Idaho." Clint replied. "Nice place."

"Why don't you boys finish setting out the chairs? I have things to do." Jillian suggested.

"Do I owe you anything?" Nick asked Clint when Jillian had gone.

"Nick, we're family and Sara is too. Family don't pay, unless they are hiring me for a legitimate legal case for which their client or the state pays." Clint patted him on the back. "Think of it as a wedding present."

"Does anyone else know about this?" Nick asked.

"Becky does. But then again it's hard to keep anything from her. But that's what you get when you're married to a shrink. Who else knows that depends on how talkative they were."

"You think it will work out?" Nick inquired. "I don't want her getting hurt."

"Sometimes answers even the bad ones are better than the 'what if' questions." Clint stated.

CSI

"Hey." Sara held out her hand flat a sugar cube sat on her palm. The horse walked over and took it. Sara rubbed her nose.

"You like horses?" Ray asked.

"I'm not opposed to them." Sara replied. "But this is Nick's baby. He's very precious about his horse; I'm guessing it's a Texan thing. Her name is Stardust."

"Seriously?" Ray questioned.

"Yes." Sara nodded. "His sisters decided it must be love because he let me ride her. Not that Nick's here much but she's still his baby aren't you girl?"

"I'm sorry." Ray apologised.

"For what?"

"For not keeping track of you. You're my little sister."

"I'm doing pretty well. Science kept me sane; it was the one thing that made sense through everything. I love my job, my friends. But there was still always a part missing."

"I'd like it if we could talk maybe once in a while, not lose touch. E-mail, phone whatever."

"I'd like that." Sara smiled. "I work crazy hours. I work graveyard shifts and usually end up pulling doubles but I'm usually available between four and midnight."

"We'll figure something out." Ray told her.

"Are you going to stay for the wedding?" Sara inquired.

"Mrs Stokes invited me to it, if you don't want me to then…"

"I do."

"I brought something more appropriate to wear, it's in the car. But I have a flight out at 8."

"Don't worry. Everything is planned for around 3.30, 4. So we should be able to get you back there on time."

TBC


	116. Chapter 116

"Sara."

Sara turned at the sound of the little voice.

"Hey Matthew." Sara picked him up. "How are you?"

"Okay." Matthew eyed up Ray. "Who he?"

"Matthew I'd like you to meet my brother Ray."

"Hello." Matthew said cheerily.

"Hello." Ray replied.

"Ray, this is Matthew Delaney one Nick's nephews."

"One?" Ray questioned.

"Thirteen nieces and nephews in total, eight girls, five boys. Nick has one brother and five sisters, all older. Who apart from Emily who lives in Houston, they all live around here. Most of them on the property. Matthew here is Maggie and Gibson's."

"That's a lot of people."

"You're telling me." Sara smiled. "But they're all good people."

"They sound it." Ray smiled.

"So Mattie, I don't think you're supposed to be in the barn by yourself."

"You're here." Matthew pointed out.

"But you didn't know that. You could get hurt. Why don't we see if we can find your Daddy or one of your uncles?" Sara suggested.

Matthew nodded.

"You're pretty good with kids." Ray commented. "Do you have any?"

"Not that I know of." Sara replied. "I've only been married a few months and Nick is fine with waiting until I'm ready."

"Hey Gib?" Sara called out. "Have you lost something?"

"That's where the little monkey disappeared too. Thanks Sara." Gibson came and took his son from Sara. "You know you're not allowed in the barn or the stables without an adult. You could get hurt."

"Sorry Daddy." Matthew apologised.

"Gib have you seen Nick?"

"Hang on. Hands over your ears Mattie." Matthew put his hands over his ears. Gibson let out a loud whistle. "Yo Nicky."

"What?" Nick yelled back.

"Your wife is looking for you."

"Hey." Nick said walking over. "What's up?"

"Ray do you mind staying with Nick for a while there are some things I need to take care of?" Sara asked.

"Okay." Ray agreed.

"Be nice and show him around." Sara whispered to Nick.

Nick showed Ray around the ranch.

"So you met my mother." Ray said as they leant against the fence.

"Twice." Nick confirmed.

"And got her sent back to jail."

"She turned up where we work in Vegas and wanted to see Sara. I was obligated to check she wasn't violating her parole by leaving California."

"Hey I have no problems with it. She should be in jail. My father was an abusive alcoholic drunk and I hated him, but he didn't deserve to die the way he did. No-one does."

"She's going to be in jail for at least another five years." Nick explained.

"As long as she stays away from my family I don't care."

"Did you ever try to find Sara?" Nick inquired.

"By the time I was sober enough and had gone through all the counselling and AA and NA meetings, I didn't think it was fair to bring it all up again. Besides which I didn't have the first clue where to start looking."

"My family came be a little pushy on mass but their hearts are in the right place."

"I'm grateful." Ray said. "She's seems to have done alright for herself."

"She's still the scared little girl, who lost everything inside." Nick replied. "She still thinks everyone is going to leave. But it's getting better."

"She seems to trust you."

"It took almost five years and it happened by accident. We started hanging out after work occasionally and it took us a while to figure out we were dating. But I don't think it would have work out any other way."

"Tell me about my sister." Ray requested.

"She's smart, did she tell you she got a full scholarship to Harvard, she's beautiful, she's a workaholic, she deals with her problems by focusing even more on work so she doesn't have to deal with them face on. She's great with my whole family, especially with the kids. She never dealt with what happened with your parents, she just concentrated on the science because it had answers and made sense to her. She's working through everything slowly. Having your mother jump back into her life didn't help much, but she's a strong person. You'll like her when you get to know her."

"I'd like that chance."

"Sara would like it too. Not that she talks about it a lot, and it took her a long time to tell me any of it, but I think out of all of it the thing she regretted most was loosing contact with you. She blames herself for that and your mother for taking you away from her as well."

TBC


	117. Chapter 117

"Nick." Andy said striding over. "Bobby's nervous as hell any suggestions to calm him down."

"You any good at football?" Nick asked Rick.

"Mom and Sara will kill you if you end up with a black eye. Not to mention Heather."

"So we play tag football." Nick shrugged. "And that's what they use concealer for, or just edit the pictures, we do it all the time with murder victims to see what they looked like." Nick paused. "Sorry, Ray this is my brother Andy Stokes, Andy this is Sara's brother, Ray…"

"Milton." Ray replied.

"Milton." Nick echoed.

"Nice to meet you." Andy said.

"You too." Ray replied.

"So do you play?" Andy asked.

"I can hold my own." Ray stated.

"I'll grab the ball, you round up the guys." Andy told Nick.

"On it."

Andy went off in search of the nearest football.

"Get ready for chaos." Nick warned. "I have a large family, and they can get a little rowdy. You should see it when we all play softball."

"And Sara copes with all this?" Ray questioned.

"She was slightly anxious the first time I brought her to meet them, but my whole family love her. The kids love her. She fits right in. My parents love her and are grateful that I didn't marry a stripper."

"Wouldn't a blackjack dealer be more likely in Vegas?" Ray asked.

"They don't call it Sin City for nothing. We get to see the worst side of it."

CSI

"They're playing football." Lara-Jo said when she walked into the kitchen.

"What?" Carrie turned to her.

"They're playing touch football." Lara-Jo repeated. "Uncle Bobby was nervous, so they are playing football to distract them."

"If they end up black eyes." Erin said.

"They are all smart guys; I think they'll respond to a logical deal." Carrie crossed her arms.

"Just let us in on the terms when you get back." Maggie suggested.

"Have fun." Sara sipped her coffee.

Carrie walked out to where they were playing football. Leland tossed the ball, Carrie grabbed the ball.

"Hey honey, if you wanted to play you should have just asked." Her husband told her.

"I'm here with a friendly warning. Keep playing ball, but anyone who ends up with a black eye is spending a week on their couch, except you Ray. Nice to meet you by the way. I'm Carrie."

"Nice to meet you too." Ray responded.

"That goes double for the two of you." She pointed at Nick and Bobby. "By the way Nicky, Sara says if you do, she's taking the tickets and seeing if Greg wants to go on vacation." Carrie knew it wasn't true but she couldn't help teasing her baby brother.

"That would be interesting but she doesn't know where we're going or where the tickets are." Nick countered.

"She's a CSI she's used to finding things people don't want her too. Have fun boys." She winked at him and tossed her husband back the ball.

"Would Sara really take the tickets and go without you?" Gibson asked him.

"Depends how mad I made her. But that was probably Carrie grandstanding. Sara would probably take Catherine with her. Just avoid aiming the ball at the face."

TBC


	118. Chapter 118

A/N: A short post. I have another fan fic I want to finish this week so I'll finish that one before I write the next post.

"How does that feel?" Sara asked when she finished putting the last curler in Heather's hair.

"Fine." Heather looked in the mirror at Sara. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"Heather trust me I don't have a problem with it. I actually think it's a great idea."

"Bobby's never been this spontaneous. Well at least not about something as big as this."

"It's romantic."

"It's crazy." Heather countered.

"Sometimes things happen quickly other times they slowly creep up and hit you over the head. Either way works just fine."

"Like you and Nick."

"One of us had to figure it out eventually. Smart people can be dumb too. It takes us some time figure out where stand."

"You make my little brother happy. That's all that matters." Heather squeezed her hand.

"So how long do you think it is before we get invaded?" Sara asked.

"I'd say about another twenty minutes."

The other women had gone to change and get the children dressed. The guys were left to fend for themselves.

"What do you want to do with your hair?"

"I don't have a clue. I didn't bring my straighteners so I'm stuck with the curls."

"If you want it up I can figure something out, it will give me something to do to stop the butterflies getting to me."

"If you like butterflies you should really meet my boss." Sara told her. "Do want you will."

"If you don't like it I can always redo it." Heather said.

Heather set about sweeping Sarah's hair up and pinning it in place leaving a few loose tendrils while making conversation.

"So you really don't know where you're going on honeymoon?" Heather asked.

"No. He said he wants it to be a surprise. I think Catherine knows something but she's not saying anything."

"You really don't mind not knowing?"

"I told Nick a decent hotel with room service would be fine. That's when he told me to go a mile in any direction and pick a hotel."

"Romantic." Heather rolled her eyes.

"Trust me he can be when he tries."

"We taught him well."

"He made me an origami bunch of roses to cheer me up after a bad case at work."

"When we were kids were on summer vacation from school, Mom had this big court case at work the guy was innocent, some sort of frame up, and there was torrential downpours we'd been stuck inside for about two days and Andy gives us all this coloured paper and tells us to make something. The rest of us made colleges or other stupid things but Nicky sat in the corner and made these intricate little paper roses. Don't ask how he learnt to make them but he did. I actually think Mom still has them some where."

"Sounds about right." Sara smiled.

"What do you think?" Heather asked when she added hair spray.

"It's perfect." Sara said looking in the mirror.

TBC


	119. Chapter 119

A/N: Sorry this has been sitting on my desktop half finished for the last week because I wasn't quite sure where I wanted it to go so I'm going to post this part and hopefully the next post will be back on track.

"Uncle Nicky." Lara-Jo appeared in front of him.

"Hey Lara."

"Sara asked me to give you something."

"What would that be?" Nick inquired.

Lara-Jo handed him an envelope.

Nick pulled the envelope open and pulled out the note and a Polaroid.

_I thought you might like a preview so you don't look like a stunned mullet and can think of something better than 'you look great' to say. Love Sara xx_

Nick glanced at the Polaroid; it was a picture of Sara in her dress and smiled.

"So when are we starting this thing?" Nick asked Lara-Jo.

"Aunt Heather says not until Uncle Bobby calms down."

"How does she know he's not calm?" Nick inquired.

"Because she can see him pacing with the binoculars."

"I should have guessed." Nick rolled his eyes. "What does she want us to do give him a shot of Jack?"

Lara held out a hip flask to him.

"I was kidding." Nick pointed out.

"Aunt Heather wasn't."

"I'll try and calm him down." Nick assured her.

"Thanks." Lara started to walk away.

"Hey Lara."

"Yes?" She turned to look at him.

"You look beautiful."

"Thanks." She blushed.

There were people milling around the seats, kids, family friends, Bobby's friends and family who had been able to make it on short notice.

"Hey Bobby." Nick strolled over to where Andy was trying to get him to relax.

"Hey Nick. When's this thing going to start?"

"Heather says not until you calm down."

"Heather?" Bobby questioned.

"Lara came down with a message for me from Sara and Heather sent you this." Nick handed him the flask.

"What's that?" Andy asked.

"A shot of Jack." Nick replied. "I was joking with Lara about what Heather wanted me to do to calm him down and she gave me this."

"How does Heather know he's not calm?"

"They're watching out the window with binoculars." Nick replied. "Wave hello."

They all looked out at the nearest window.

"Look Bobby can you calm down, the sooner you do the sooner it will be over." Nick told him.

"Why are you so calm?"

"I've already done this and I'm hoping Sara doesn't burst into hysterical laughter like she did the first time. But right now I really want to see her in this dress." He pulled out the Polaroid and showed then.

"Wow, she looks good in a wedding dress." Andy commented.

"I know." Nick replied.

"Where did you get it?" Andy asked.

"Sara sent it so I don't get a stunned mullet look when I see her in it."

TBC


	120. Chapter 120

A/N: Sorry for the delay but my muse for this story turn a wrong turn down the aisle. Then when I did write something my computer managed to lose it.

They played a country song instead of the traditional wedding march, Sara adopting a 'when in Rome' attitude and the fact that being around Nick so much that she had actually started to like some country music so it wasn't a major problem.

Bill Stokes walked both Sara and Heather down the aisle one on each arm. When they reached the end Bill kissed each of their cheeks and took his place at the front of officiate.

"You look amazing." Nick whispered to Sara.

"You don't back yourself." Sara responded.

"We are gathered here today to unite this man and this woman." He indicated Heather and Bobby. "And this man and this woman." He indicated Sara and Nick. "In the bonds of holy matrimony which is an honourable estate which these people come to be joined. If anyone can show just and legal cause why they may not be joined, let them speak now or forever hold there peace." He paused. "Now anyone willing to give Nick and Heather away _finally_ please raise their hands." There was an emphasis on the finally.

Nick glanced around as his whole family raised his hand.

"Dad." Heather sighed.

Sara couldn't help but chuckle.

"Good." Bill said. "Bobby, Nick will you have these women as your lawful wedded wives, to live together in the estate of matrimony? Will you love her, honour her, comfort her, and keep her in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be true to her as long as you both shall live?"

"I will." Both men said.

"Heather, Sara, will you have this man as your lawful wedded husbands, to live together in the estate of matrimony? Will you love him, honour him, comfort him, and keep him in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be true to him as long as you both shall live?"

"I will." Both women answered.

"As Nick and Sara have already completed there exchange of rings, well skip this part for them."

He continued with the exchanging of rings for Bobby and Heather.

"For as much as Nick and Sara and Bobby and Heather have consented together in wedlock, and have witnessed the same before this company of friends and family, and have given and pledged their promises to each other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving a ring, and by joining hands. By the authority invested in me by the State of Texas, I pronounce you men and wives. You may kiss the brides."

Nick kissed Sara.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too."

"And you didn't start laughing." Nick was so focused on Sara that he didn't notice his family clapping and cheering around them.

"There are only so many times you can burst into hysterical laughter when you get married."

CSI CSI

The reception was a traditional Stokes affair, lots of food and happy people.

Nick hand a hand looped around Sara's waist when his father approached.

"Nice trying to sell us off there Dad." Nick said.

"I thought it was funny." Sara stated. "And perfect."

"Thank you Sara." Bill replied. "Now tell me do you two step?"

"Of course. I'll see you later." She gave Nick a quick kiss before she went to dance with her father-in-law.

Bill spun her around the dance floor while Sara laughed having fun.

Half way through she felt a tug on the back of her dress.

"Hey Matthew." She smiled.

"You want to cut in?" Bill asked. Matthew nodded. "What do you say Sara?"

"Let's show them how it's done." Sara stated picking him up.

…

"Hey Mags." Nick came up behind her. "I think your son is trying to steal my wife."

"What?" Maggie asked.

Nick pointed her in the direction of the dance floor.

"At least he has good taste." Gibson commented.

"He went and tugged on the back of her dress to cut in." Stacey said having overheard what they were talking about.

"At least he has manners." Lara-Jo stated.

"Since Sara is occupied would one of you ladies like to dance?" Nick inquired.

Lara-Jo looked at Stacey.

"Why not?" She replied. "Just don't tread on my toes."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Nick stated.

TBC


	121. Chapter 121

"You do look amazing in that dress." Nick said as he pulled Sara into the bedroom.

The party had ended, the family had all headed to their homes and Ray had headed to the airport and he and Sara had exchanged information and she had promised him to call as soon as they got back from their honeymoon.

"Catherine has good taste. She picked it."

"Either way." Nick kissed her.

"So are you going to tell me now?"

"Tell you what?"

"Where we're going tomorrow?"

"You're not even going to let me get you out of the dress first?" Nick inquired.

"You know I read somewhere most people don't have sex on their wedding nights because they are too exhausted."

"Right. You want to know where we're going since we have to be up early to catch a flight."

"It would be nice."

Nick dug around and found what he was looking for.

He handed it to her.

Sara opened it.

" New York? We're going to New York? Not that I have anything against New York but why do I need a passport to go to New York."

"You don't. But we have to go to New York to catch our connecting flight."

"To where?"

Nick grabbed out a thin gift box with a one written on it and handed it to her.

Sara looked at him and opened the box. Inside there was an Italian phrase book and two tickets.

" Rome?" Sara said when she read the destination.

"Catherine mentioned you wanted to see to the Sistine Chapel. Since the Vatican City is inside Rome I thought it would work. But it turns out to see the Sistine Chapel you have to go through all these other museums first but its probably worth it."

"It's perfect." Sara kissed him.

"Good. But since how often are we going to get the chance to go to Europe, you might need this." He gave her another box.

Inside this one was a French phrase book and tickets from Rome to Paris.

" Paris?"

"If you're seeing the Sistine Chapel, you may as well see the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and Arc D'Triomphe. Paris is supposed to be a good place to spend your honeymoon too."

"I like the idea of Paris."

"I'm just hoping you like all the time spent at airports." He handed her another box.

"Train tickets?" Sara looked at him.

"The Eurostar. I thought we could spend the night in London. Then to Washington for the night before heading back to Vegas."

"A pit stop in some great capital cities."

"Something like that. Besides you're not really a beach person."

"It sounds perfect." Sara smiled. "Hopefully they won't lose are luggage somewhere along the line."

"I wasn't exactly sure where you wanted to go since you wouldn't tell me. Catherine gave me the idea about Rome and I just ran with it from there."

"Can we afford this?" Sara asked.

"You only go honeymoon once we may as well do it well. We'll be fine. If we're not you can just max out your overtime to pay for it." He teased.

"Thanks." Sara responded sarcastically.

"Besides we eloped, kind of, and my parents paid for today if we'd had a big fancy wedding like most people it would have cost a lot more and this way you can't say I've never taken you to Paris." He winked at her.

"Okay. You should put these away so we don't lose them."

"Then can I get you out of that dress?" Nick asked.

"I think we can arrange that. I need someone to undo all the buttons at the back anyway."

"Why do women get wedding dresses with lots of buttons on it anyway?"

"Anticipation." Sara replied. "And it's a better line than a zip would give you."

"What exactly do you have on under there?"

"This is Texas and it's too hot for panty hose if that gives you a hint." Sara teased as she kicked off her shoes.

"Why didn't we do this years ago?" Nick asked.

"We were idiots." Sara replied. "And we weren't ready." She paused. "Catherine took me to the most expensive lingerie shop in Vegas."

It didn't take half a second for Nick to kiss her.

TBC


	122. Chapter 122

"We've got mail." Catherine said as she walked into the break room.

"Very AOL." Greg commented.

"Whose it from?" Warrick asked as he stirred sugar into his coffee.

"Nick and Sara. A post card from New York."

"They went to New York on honeymoon?" Greg questioned.

"No. They're going to Rome they had to go to New York to catch a flight there." Catherine replied. "I guess Sara wrote this on the layover."

"What do they have to say for themselves?" Warrick asked.

"_Hi guys._" Catherine read. _"The wedding was great; Jillian is sending you copy of the pictures. Nick's sister and her ex-husband Bobby got remarried after Nick finally told Bobby why they got divorced in the first place. But that wasn't the biggest surprise. Clint and Jillian tracked down my brother Ray and invited him to the wedding. He lives in Twin Falls, Idaho. We're going to spend a lot of time getting to know each other after we get back. Nick's taking me to Rome so I can see the Sistine Chapel. We'll send you some more postcards, although we'll probably be back before you get them. Love Sara and Nick. P.S. We really don't wish you were come with us  P.P.S Thanks Catherine."_

"They found her brother?" Greg stated.

"It seems so." Catherine nodded.

"That's good."

"Rome huh? I didn't know Nicky had it in him. But why is she thanking you?" Warrick inquired.

"It's either Nick thanking for convincing Sara to buy what we bought in the lingerie shop or Sara thanking me for telling Nick she wanted to see the Sistine Chapel."

"Did I miss something?" Grissom asked when he walked in a few seconds later.

"Sara and Nick sent us a postcard; they're going to Rome for their honeymoon."

"I thought they didn't leave until yesterday?" Grissom questioned.

"Sara wrote it at the airport in New York." Catherine explained. "They found her brother."

"Really." Grissom took the postcard from Catherine.

CSI CSI

Nick gently kissed Sara's shoulder.

"Umm." Sara mumbled.

"You've got to love that since we work nights jet lag isn't that much of a problem."

"I'm awake."

"I'll call room service for breakfast." Nick suggested.

"How about we go and have breakfast in the piazza?" Sara countered.

"That means getting up."

"I thought we were going to look around today and then got to see Vatican City tomorrow."

"How about we share a shower?" Nick countered.

"Deal." Sara kissed him.

CSI CSI

"It is really pretty here." Sara commented as they strolled through the streets hand in hand looking at the architecture.

"What you don't like the fact that you can going around the world in a few hours, under thousands of light bulbs and never get that kerching sound out of your head?"

"Vegas is nice, but I'm a California girl. But Texas is growing on me."

"I knew we'd convert you." He kissed her.

"I think you're family have a lot to do with that."

"They are your family too."

"I know." Sara smiled.

TBC

A/N: I know it's short and been a long time coming but I've had an odd week and my muse has decided to enjoy the sunshine, when I coax it back in hopefully I'll write some more.


	123. Chapter 123

"I can't believe you bought Catherine shoes." Nick said when the exited the shop.

"How often is she going to get a pair of genuine Italian shoes?" Sara asked.

"I'm guessing when she goes to the shoe store and they have made in Italy written on them?" Nick offered.

Sara swatted him.

"Okay okay." Nick gave up knowing he wouldn't win the argument.

"You can pick what we buy for Warrick and Greg." Sara told him.

"You mean I can buy them one of those pens that has a woman in it that strips when you turn it upside down."

"If you have to." Sara replied. "But you can get those in Vegas."

"You can get Italian shoes in Vegas." Nick countered.

"Give up you're not going to win." Sara told him.

"Since we're leaving Rome tomorrow afternoon do you go out and have dinner tonight?" Nick suggested.

"When in Rome eat as the Romans do?"

"Pasta?" Nick guessed.

"I was thinking more along the lines of pizza."

"Did the Romans have pizza?" Nick asked.

"Well the people of Rome do."

"Good point. Pizza it is."

"Think of it this way you already know most of the Italian names for pizza dishes." Sara kissed him.

"You're not going to make me eat veggie pizza are you?"

"You can have whatever you like." Sara assured him.

CSI

"We've got another postcard." Greg carried it into the break room.

"What does this one say?" Warrick asked.

"_Hey guys, Rome is beautiful. The Sistine chapel looks so much better in person, and it was worth having to go on a tour through some of the other museums in the Vatican City first. We saw the Pope. Our time in Italy is almost up, and then we're heading for Paris. Still not wishing you were here. Love Nick and Sara. P.S. I apologise in advance for the gifts that Nick is picking for you."_ Greg read.

"Paris? Not bad." Catherine said.

"Who is going to Paris?" Grissom walked in.

"You just missed postcard number two." Greg replied. "Nick and Sara are going to Paris."

"Well they do say it is the city of love, it's appropriate for a honeymoon." Grissom took the postcard from Greg.

"Nick's buying us inappropriate gifts." Warrick added.

"I'm thinking 'My friends went to Rome and I all I got was this lousy t-shirt' t-shirts." Greg guessed.

"You're more of a 'Kiss Me Quick' hat type." Catherine suggested.

"I didn't know you'd noticed." Greg winked at her.

CSI CSI

"Wow." Sara said as they stood at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

"That's definitely bigger than the one back home." Nick agreed.

"It's Paris of course it is."

"So you approve of Paris?" Nick asked.

"Since your knowledge of French seems to be limited to escargot and a line from a song which I will hit you if you say to anyone other than me, I say it's tres bon."

"You mean 'voulez vous couche avec moi ce soir'?"

"That's the one."

"It would get us good service." Nick pointed out.

"It would also get you a black eye."

"I didn't know you were so violent." Nick teased.

"Just push me." Sara kissed him.

"So do you want to scale the Eiffel Tower?" Nick inquired.

"They have a lift." Sara pointed out. "And you should try scaling the Golden Gate Bridge?"

"You've done?" Nick questioned.

"One of the guides fell over the edge and died. We had to go and investigate." Sara shrugged.

TBC


	124. Chapter 124

"Catherine." The receptionist stopped her on her way in.

"Yes?"

"Another post card and a letter."

"Letter?" Catherine queried.

"You're supposed to read the postcard first and the letter explains the packages on the table in the break room for you."

"There are packages?"

"Don't worry they are safe." The woman assured her.

"Thanks."

Catherine read the postcard as she walked to the break room and smiled. It was from Nick and Sara and had a picture of the Eiffel Tower with a statement that they had been to the top and a message about going to London.

"A tour of Europe I'm impressed Nicky." She muttered.

"You know what they say about talking to yourself." Greg came up behind her.

"Hey Greg. We've got another post card from Nick and Sara, after Paris they went to London."

"Okay."

"We also got a letter and some packages." Catherine said as they walked into the break room.

"Ooh." There was one for each of the night shift and one for Brass.

Catherine opened the letter.

"_Hi guys, we finally made it back to Vegas. We had a great time; we thought you'd all like your gifts so here they are. Don't open them until you're all together. We'll see you tomorrow night as we enjoy the last few hours of our honeymoon. Love Nick and Sara. P.S I'm still sorry for what Nick chose." _

"We have to wait?" Greg asked as he shook his package.

"Greg they could have made you wait until tomorrow." Catherine pointed out.

"Wooh. Did someone forget to tell me it's Christmas?" Warrick asked walking in.

"Gifts from Nick and Sara." Catherine explained. "We can't open them until Grissom gets here."

"I thought they weren't back until tomorrow?" Warrick questioned.

"They got back tonight dropped these off and are enjoying their last few hours off." Catherine replied.

"I guess I don't need to worry that I forgot to go by and feed their fish." Warrick sat down.

"I guess not." Greg stated.

CSI CSI

"Sara?" Nick said half asleep walking out of their bedroom.

"Hey." Sara was sat on the couch sipping from her mug.

"You okay?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"You should have woken me up." Nick came and sat down beside her.

"You had jet lag." Sara shrugged.

"Technically I was just getting back to my normal schedule. So why couldn't you sleep?"

"No idea. I just couldn't."

"Is something bothering you?" He tucked her hair behind her ear.

"No."

"Is this about Ray?"

"No. I sent him e-mail a few days ago, I got one back. We're talking."

"Is it something I did?" Nick inquired.

"No."

"Work?"

"We haven't been at work for a week and a half." Sara pointed out.

"Is that a problem?" Nick asked.

"Nick we were in Europe on our honeymoon, I think if we showed up in the lab those weirdoes who think there are aliens in New Mexico would be hanging around. I just couldn't sleep."

"Want to watch a movie or something?" Nick offered.

"We could watch what we Tivo'd." Sara suggested.

Nick got up and grabbed the remote controls. After he switched on the TV, he handed them to Sara. She selected the program she wanted to watch.

They sat there on the couch watch TV, until they both fell asleep.

TBC


	125. Chapter 125

"Hey how was the honeymoon?" Catherine said when she saw them the next evening giving Sara and then Nick a hug.

"It was great." Sara told her.

"You've got a decent tan."

"Actually most of that was in Texas." Sara replied. "Just topped it up in Italy."

"I love the shoes." Catherine told her. "They are so comfortable."

"See." Sara glanced at Nick.

"I'll stick to trying to understand evidence at least that makes sense most of the time." Nick headed off towards the break room.

"What?" Catherine asked.

"He was giving me a hard time for buying you shoes." Sarah explained.

"I see. What's your brother like?" Catherine inquired.

…

They all caught up while they waited for Grissom to arrive with assignments.

The guys thanked Nick for their gifts while Sara showed Catherine the photographs they had taken and printed off when they got home.

"Sara, Nick welcome back." Grissom said. "Thank you for the book. And I hope that all of you are well rested as we have a busy night ahead of us."

"Sounds like things are back to normal." Nick joked.

"Sara, Greg, jumper at the Sands. Catherine, Warrick, drowning at the Treasure Island, you might need wet suits. Nicky you're with me; we have a body in the desert."

"Ain't no place like home." Sara said. "I'm driving." She informed Greg.

"When don't you?" Greg followed her out.

CSI CSI

Nick and Sara fell back into their work patterns very easily. Cases came and went like they had never been gone.

Sara talked to her brother twice a week on the phone and they e-mail back and forth getting to know one another.

CSI CSI

"Hey Doc." Sara walked into the morgue about three weeks after they had gotten back. Robbins was sat at the desk eating a sandwich.

"Sara, I only have the preliminary results I'll open him up when I'm done eating."

"Exsanguination?" Sara guessed at the cause of death.

"That's what it looks like. I'll have more for you in a few hours."

"That's fine." Sara hesitated.

"Was there something else?" He inquired.

"Can I ask you a question off the record? Just between us."

"Of course."

"I probably already know the answer but I need someone else to tell me."

"What do want to know?" Robbins asked.

"How accurate are home pregnancy tests?"

"The box says 99. There are occasionally false negatives when it's too early and the occasional false positive but for the most part they are pretty accurate."

"That's what I thought. So three different brands with the same result is pretty much conclusive."

"I'd make an appointment with your doctor to have him run a blood test but yes. I take it congratulations are in order."

"It looks that way. I guess moving nine time zones screws up when you're supposed to take your birth control pills."

"Just out of curiosity how late are you?"

"A week and a half." Sara admitted.

"If three tests turned up positive I'd say you're pregnant."

"Can we keep this between us for now until I can see my doctor and tell Nick?"

"Of course." Robbins agreed.

"Thank you." Sara replied.

"You do know you'll have to be careful around some of the chemicals in the lab."

"I know." Sara sighed. "I should get back; you'll let me know when you have the results of the full autopsy?"

"I'll page you."

"Thank you."

Sara left and Robbins went back to his sandwich.

TBC


	126. Chapter 126

It took a few days for Sara to get an appointment with her doctor and then a call the following day to give her the results.

"I'm going out for a while." Sara told Nick, she needed some time alone.

"Want me to come with you?" He offered.

"No, I'm just going for a walk to get some air. I'll be back in an hour."

"Okay." Nick replied.

Sara gave him a quick kiss goodbye before she left.

When Sara wasn't back ninety minutes later Nick went to look for her. When she usually went for a walk she went to the park near their home.

Nick found her sat on a bench near the children's play area lost in thought.

"Sara." He said. Sara jumped slightly.

"I'm sorry." She apologised when she realised the time.

"It's okay." He sat down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I was just thinking."

"About anything specific?" Nick inquired.

"Yes."

"Want to share?" Nick suggested.

"Can we walk?" Sara asked. Nick nodded.

They started to walk back towards the house.

"I went to the doctors yesterday."

"Are you sick?" Nick asked.

"No." Sara replied. "But I had a slight screw up."

"Screw up?"

"With my birth control pills."

"What about them?" Nick was a little confused.

"I've never had to say this before so I'm not sure how to put it." Sara stopped dead.

"Just say it." Nick stood directly in front of her.

"I'm pregnant." She blurted out.

"Pr…pre…pregnant." He spluttered.

"Since they take it from the date of your last period about six weeks." She clarified.

"Wow… wow… I need to sit down."

"Okay." Sara guided him to a bench and sat him down. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that." Nick stated.

"I'm fine. No morning sickness or weird cravings as of yet."

"How long have you…." Nick stared.

"How long have I known? I had three positive pregnancy tests a few days ago, I saw the doctor yesterday and they called with the results of my blood test a few hours ago."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Nick questioned.

"I needed to get my head around it and I wanted to be certain before I said anything. Figure out how I felt about it."

"How do you feel about?"

"Terrified. I didn't exactly have the best childhood and this wasn't planned, I don't want to screw our kid up."

"We'll try our hardest not to, but every parent screws their kid up slightly." Nick tucked a loose hair behind her ear.

"I know." She sighed.

"So we're doing this?"

"It looks that way." Sara replied.

"Wow. You honestly don't know happy my mother is going to be when we tell her."

"Can we wait a while before we tell her or anyone else? Just in case." Sara requested.

"Sure." Nick replied.

"I know have to tell Grissom so he can watch which cases I'm put on."

"Okay." He paused. "Does anyone else know?"

"Only Doc Robbins."

"Did he guess?"

"No. I needed someone to tell me that three pregnancy tests had a very poor chance of being wrong. I already knew the answer I just needed someone else to tell me that. He won't say anything."

"I know." Nick rubbed her hand.

Sara yawned.

"Sorry. I think I need to take a nap before we go to work."

"Let's go home. We'll celebrate later."

"As long as it's with orange juice or decaf coffee." Sara told him.

"How about milk?" Nick suggested.

"We'll see."

TBC


	127. Chapter 127

Sara and Nick headed into work early so Sara could fill Grissom in on the situation.

Grissom had been supportive offering his congratulations. He was going to find out the department policy on when CSI's had to come out of the field and the limitations of crime scenes.

Sara told him what she knew; he offered to limit which cases she went on until he found out more. Obviously at some point she would be restricted to the lab but they would work out the details of that at a later time.

"How did it go?" Nick asked as she came into the break room and he handed her a bottle of water.

"He says congratulations. He's going to find out what the departments policy on field work is and get back to me, but for now just limit my cases to certain scenes."

"Sounds okay."

"Do you have a dollar?" Sara asked. Nick fished in his pocket and handed her a dollar. "Thanks."

"Where are you going?" He inquired when she headed for the door.

"To buy a bag of chips from the vending machine. I'm hungry."

CSI CSI

The department policy recommend that at 20 weeks Sara transferred to the lab and didn't go in the field any more. There was a health and safety list of chemicals and tests that Sara would be restricted from carrying out.

Sara was compliant.

At a scene a few weeks later Sara was working with Greg processing the bedroom of a house.

Sara sprayed the luminol onto the wall and her stomach turned.

"Greg, photograph that." She told him before clamping her hand over her mouth and running out the room.

"Sara!" Greg called after her.

Sara ran past Catherine on the stairs out the house, she managed to get behind her Denali before she threw up.

"Hey Sara are you okay?" Catherine came up behind her.

"Dodgy stomach, I'll be fine in a minute." Sara replied.

"Is a dodgy stomach a way of saying you're pregnant but not telling people yet?" Catherine asked.

"How long have you known?" Sara sighed.

"Well not for certain until now, but I've suspected for a few weeks. The fact that you're not drinking coffee and throwing up at crime scenes are good clues."

"It's the first time I've thrown up." Sara stated. "Luminol of all things."

"That would be the hydrogen peroxide in it. We'll get you a mask."

"Thanks." Sara leant back against the car and took a breath as Catherine handed her a bottle of water.

"How far along are you?"

"According to the doctor about 8 weeks, an unplanned by-product of my honeymoon."

"It's not so bad." Catherine said. "How are you doing otherwise?"

"I'm getting used to the idea."

"Well congratulations."

"Thanks." Sara took a deep breath.

"How's Nick doing with it?"

"Trying to avoid driving me crazy." Sara replied.

"Any strange cravings?"

"Not yet. Unless you count no salt potato chips." Sara stated.

"Well your doctor will prefer that you eat the no salt ones."

"I know." Sara sighed. "Can you not say anything to anyone?" Sara requested. "We want to wait to tell people for a while."

"Who else knows?" Catherine inquired.

"I had to tell Grissom so I guess whoever he asked what the department policy was, Doc Robbins and my doctors. We're going to give it another month or so before we tell people just to be safe."

"Of course. Feeling better?"

"A bit."

"Why don't you take what we have back to the lab?" Catherine suggested.

"I'll be okay in a minute." Sara insisted.

"We've got lots of evidence to take back anyway. You may as well head back and start processing it and let your stomach settle, Greg and I can finish up here."

"If you're sure?"

"Head back to the lab."

"My kit is still up there."

"I'll bring it back for you."

"Okay thanks." Sara replied.

"I'll make a godmother if you're looking." Catherine told her.

"I'll get back to you on that one. I think that debate will come after the one about names, Nick bought a book, which wasn't a good idea."

"Steal it." Catherine suggested. "I'll see you back at the lab."

"Thanks Catherine."

…

"Greg, Sara's gone back to the lab; can you pack up her kit and remember to take it with us when we go back?" Catherine stood in the bedroom doorway.

"Is she okay? She looked a little pale and like she was about to throw up."

"Dodgy stomach, probably something she ate. She took what we have so far back and is going to log it in." Catherine explained.

"Okay." Greg nodded.

TBC


	128. Chapter 128

"Hey." Nick caught up with Sara in the hall. "I didn't think you'd be back for a few hours."

"Well when you throw up a crime scene, it's probably best to leave."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, and I probably will be if I stay away from Luminol."

"Luminol?"

"Corpses and blood are fine but apparently luminol makes me nauseous." Sara explained. "And Catherine knows."

"How?"

"She can put two and two together and get four." Sara replied. "Women know these things."

"Right." Nick just agreed with her logic.

"I have to start processing the evidence I brought back, so I'll see you later."

"Just take it easy okay?"

"Stop being overprotective." Sara told him patting his hand. "I'm fine. Go back to work."

CSI CSI

A couple days later Sara was sat the break room table doing some paperwork. She had a bag of potato chips and a pot of strawberry yoghurt and was dipping the chips in the yoghurt before she ate it.

"Are you eating chips and yoghurt?" Greg asked from the doorway.

"Huh?" Sara looked up.

"Chips and yoghurt?"

"They are no salt chips and you make dips with yoghurt."

"Strawberry yoghurt?" Greg questioned.

"They didn't have any other." Sara shrugged. "Try it."

"Sure why not." Greg grabbed a chip and dipped it in the yoghurt before taking a bite. "You know it's not bad."

"I told you." Sara smiled.

"So is your stomach feeling better?"

"From the other day? I'm fine." Sara replied.

"So you're over the morning sickness?" Greg took another chip.

"What?" Sara looked at him.

"You're knocked up right?"

"What makes you say that?" Sara inquired.

"The chips and yoghurt, throwing up at a crime scene, looking slightly green, Grissom taking an extra second before deciding which cases to put you on, and the fact that you haven't asked me to make you a single cup of coffee despite the only coffee in the pot being the sludge dayshift has left."

"I guess that means I have to tell Warrick now." Sara sighed.

"What?" Greg looked at him.

"Since everyone else seems to know I should tell him." She leant back against her chair.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks. One suggestion though, avoid phrases that include knocked up, bun in the oven or any other colloquialism."

"Okay." Greg agreed.

"And stop eating my chips."

"Sorry. This actually addictive."

"Salt and vinegar ones work better." Sara stated. "But I can't have too much salt."

"So no salt chips and yoghurt."

"Works for me." Sara shrugged.

"I should get back." Greg said. "If you need anything, or anything carrying let me know."

"I will. Just avoid spraying luminol near me; it makes me nauseous at the moment."

"Okay." Greg got up.

"Hey Greg."

"Yes?"

"Can you not tell anyone? We were planning on wait a few weeks until it was past the whole first trimester thing before we told people."

"Sure." Greg agreed. "I'll leave you to your paperwork and chips."

"Thanks Greg."

"What are friends for?" He winked at her.

Sara rolled her eyes before taking another chip and dunking it in the yoghurt.

TBC


	129. Chapter 129

"Hey Warrick do you have a minute?"

"For you maybe two." He smiled. "What's up?"

"There's something I need to tell you since everybody else guessed."

"You're pregnant." Warrick stated.

"Okay, you guessed as well." Sara sighed.

"Nick let something slip the other day and made me promise not to say anything." Warrick explained.

"I guess this is a wasted conversation."

"No, I get to say congratulations girl and give you a hug." Warrick hugged her. "I also get to tell you Warrick is a good name."

"It's better than some of the suggestions that Nick's come up with but I already told him we're naming it after anyone we know."

"You got in there before he suggested junior." Warrick guessed.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Sara asked. "Besides come up with creative ways to get rid of the name book he bought."

"This have to hear." Warrick crossed his arms.

"I'm currently torn between dropping it in a vat of acid or just burning it."

"Go for the second but just do it in an open space that won't catch on fire." Warrick told her.

"I have to go to the morgue so I'll see you later." Sara excused herself.

"Was that Sara?" Nick came in the other door just after she left.

"She thought she'd better tell me the news since everybody else guessed."

"Greg guessed?" Nick questioned.

"If you hadn't told me I think I would have figured it out." Warrick stated. "Also she's concocting plans for things to do with that name book you have."

"I know."

"Putting it away for a few months might be a good idea if you don't want it flambéed." Warrick advised.

CSI CSI

Since Nick had gone over to PD Sara could actually get some work done with the feeling that someone was watching her every move.

Sara progressed with her case.

"Hey Hodges." Sara walked into trace.

"Sara."

"Do you have my results back yet?"

"Not yet?" He replied.

"How much longer I've been waiting four hours?"

"You have to wait just like everybody else. I only have two hands and I'm processing a backlog as it is and…"

"Excuse me." Sara left quick she could feel she was about to burst into tears and she wasn't going to do it in front of Hodges. She quickly headed for the ladies room.

"What did you say to Sara?" Grissom demand to know from Hodges having seen her run out.

"I just told she'd have to wait for her results just like everyone else."

"How long has she been waiting?" Grissom asked.

"About four hours."

"How is she expected to do her job if it takes so long for results?"

"There was a backlog from days that I have to finish first."

"We've been here for 6 hours, make a start on night shifts trace evidence, the day guys can take care of their own evidence." Grissom instructed.

"I don't know why she is so upset. Maybe she's getting her period."

"I'll let you know when you have to attend your sensitivity seminar." Grissom told him. "You have work to do."

Grissom looked around the lab until he found Catherine.

"Catherine do you have a minute?" He asked.

"Sure." Catherine followed him into the hall.

"Can you go and check on Sara? Hodges made her cry. I think she was headed for the bathroom."

"Idiot." Catherine muttered.

Catherine found Sara splashing water on her face.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Bursting into tears for no reason is going to take some getting used to." Sara sighed.

"Hodges is a jerk and enough to make anyone cry." Catherine told her. "And mood swings, bursting into tears are all par for the course, along with backaches, swollen ankles, and people treating you like your sick rather just pregnant."

"Great." Sara muttered.

"Just take it one day at a time. You'll get your body back in seven months, until then something this big is going to send your system crazy."

TBC


	130. Chapter 130

Sara still hadn't gotten the results of her evidence when her shift was over. The case she was working didn't need to be solved right away so she told Grissom she was leaving she'd pick up when she came in the following night.

Grissom let her leave with assurances that Hodges had been booked into the nearest sensitivity seminar.

Rather than head straight home Sara drove around for a while waiting for the store she wanted to open. Despite being able to find whatever you wanted in Las Vegas 24 hours a day some stores did close over night.

When 9 am rolled around Sara parked the car and got out. After making sure it was locked securely she walked into the book store.

Sara wandered around looking at books for a while before she made it to the maternity section. There were shelves upon shelves of books about pregnancy and child care. Sara looked bewildered.

"You look a little lost." A pregnant woman who looked about ready to pop commented.

"You have no idea. Which one are you supposed to pick?"

"If you're open to suggestions I can recommend the ones that I read."

"That would be great." Sara smiled. "So how much longer have you got to go?"

"Three days ago." She replied.

"Oh."

"Yeah." She sighed. "I'll be glad when it's over. I've had enough especially in this heat, why I let my fiancé convince me that moving to Vegas was a good idea, I'll never know. I'm Lucy by the way."

"Sara." Sara supplied.

"Try that one, that one and that one." She pointed out books which Sara picked up.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I should share the knowledge that getting this fat has earned me."

"I'm sure it will be over soon." Sara consoled her.

"If the Braxton-Hicks contractions I've had are anything to go by I'm going to be crying out for every drug in the hospital."

"My husband is one of seven." Sara stated.

"Your mother-in-law must be a very brave woman."

"Public defender."

"I think one is going to be our limit." Lucy rubbed her stomach.

"You might change your mind later."

"Being sick everyday for nine months puts you off. I only came in to find something for my niece's birthday so to distract you."

"It's okay; I only just got of work so it's fine."

"You work at one of the hotels?" Lucy guessed.

"Graveyard at the Crime lab." Sara corrected.

"You're a cop?"

"No. Crime Scene Investigator." Sara explained. "I figure out the who, what, where, why, when and how from the evidence left a crime scene."

"Sounds interesting."

"It is most of the time." Sara replied.

CSI CSI

Nick let himself in, while Sara had been able to go after her shift Nick had had to stick around for a few more hours.

"Sar…" He stopped when he saw her asleep on the couch.

He grabbed the blanket from the couch and carefully laid it over her legs, he think picked up the pregnancy book from where it had fallen on her chest.

"Hey." Sara whispered sleepily having woken up.

"Hey, sorry I didn't mean to wake you." He apologised.

"Well I didn't mean to fall asleep so I think that evens it out."

"New book?" Nick asked.

"I went to the store after work. I thought it might help me figure out why I burst into tears when Hodges told me my results weren't ready yet."

"Want me to beat him up?" Nick inquired.

"No. Grissom's sending him to a sensitivity seminar that should enough."

"Now that's something I'd pay to see." Nick smiled.

"You know everyone knows now. Greg guessed and you told Warrick."

"I said something and he wouldn't quit until I explained what I meant. Sorry."

"It's okay." Sara sighed.

"Do you want anything to eat I'm starving?"

"Blueberry pancakes." Sara replied. "I made the batter before I sat down it's in the fridge."

"Blueberry pancakes it is." He kissed her.

TBC


	131. Chapter 131

Sara was stood in front of the mirror dress only in a bikini top and a pair of shorts.

The temperature in Las Vegas had jumped 10 degrees in less than twenty four hours and the humidity levels had taken a sharp climb as well.

It didn't help that when Sara and Nick got home their air conditioning unit had packed up. Nick had banished Sara to the bedroom where they had a ceiling fan as it was the coolest room in the house while Nick tried to work out what the problem was.

Sara had offered to help several times but she had been ushered back into the bedroom with a glass of juice full of ice cubes to keep her cool.

Sara had gotten to the point where she had suggested that Nick just drop her off in one of the air conditioned lobbies of one of the big hotels. Nick had countered the morgue would be better. Sara had just given up and retreated into the bedroom and taken a nap.

Now she was stood in front of the mirror.

"Having fun?" Nick asked.

"I'm getting wide."

Nick had been expecting her to say fat not wide.

"Wide?"

"I haven't put on weight in my stomach, it's all on my butt, hips and I'm loosing my waist."

"Counter-balance?" Nick suggested.

Sara glared at him.

"This would be one of those times where it would be better if I didn't say anything right?"

"Good guess."

"Let me just say you look great but it's all for a good cause."

"I'm going end up looking like I swallowed a beach ball."

"You'll still look beautiful." He wrapped his arms around her.

"Nice try but I don't believe you. He'd better not turn out to be an armed robber or a serial killer or something."

"You think it's a boy?" Nick asked.

"No." Sara replied.

"So you think it's a girl?"

"No."

"You said 'he'." Nick pointed out.

"I had to pick a pronoun." Sara shrugged. "He or she is better than it."

"So any feeling either way?"

"No. You can ask the doctor in two months if you like." Sara told him. "How's the air-con?"

"One of the parts packed up."

"So are you going to call someone to come and fix it?" Sara inquired.

"No. Warrick has a friend who can get me the part but it won't be until tomorrow. Want me to call Catherine and see if you can go over there?"

"Nick, we go to work in about 8 hours and hopefully it will have cooled a little by then, but right now I'm going to have a cold shower and I'm going to crawl under that very thin sheet and try and get at least six hours sleep. If you want to join me…"

"Actually a cold shower about now…"

"I meant sleeping. You have to work tonight too."

"Okay." Nick kissed her. "Go take your shower."

CSI CSI

"You look a little frazzled. The heat getting you?" Catherine asked Sara later that evening.

"Our central air-con had packed up by the time we got home yesterday. So I spent the whole day in the bedroom with the ceiling fan while Nick tried to figure out the problem."

"That must have been like an oven, why didn't you come over to my place?" Catherine asked.

"That suggestion came up along with one of the hotel lobbies or the morgue. Hopefully it will get fixed later or this heat wave will break."

"Sounds like you're hoping for a storm."

"Sounds good about now." Sara stated.

"Sounds good to all of us, but the weathermen are predicting it will be like this for at least the rest of the week."

"Great." Sara closed her locker door.

"Why don't you ask Grissom if you can stay in the lab the air conditioning should help…"

The lights blacked out and the air-conditioning cut out.

"You were saying?" Sara asked.

"Why don't you ask Grissom if he has any cases in one of the hotels with good air conditioning?"

"Why did I think moving to a desert was a good idea?"

"The bright lights bring all the interesting cases."

"And hopefully a generator."

TBC


	132. Chapter 132

The low emergency lights flashed on indicating that the generators had kicked in. But the air remained the same.

"Did someone forget to pay the power bill?" Warrick asked as they gathered for assignments.

"The power station is experiencing technical difficulties due to the heat and expects to have everything sorted in a few hours but until then half of Vegas is the dark including the Strip." Grissom announced. "The generator will allow us to use the equipment but we need to keep it to a minimum until the problem is sorted. It also means the air condition system will be offline so it's going to get very hot in here."

"Great." Everyone muttered.

"Do you have any cases where anyone has air conditioning?" Greg inquired.

"We have a body out in the desert. It could be just someone who died from the heat"

"I'll take it." Warrick took the slip. "Come on Greg, the car has air conditioning."

"Take plenty of water with you and keep hydrated." Catherine told them.

"Gee thanks." Greg followed Warrick while he asked. "How crazy do you have to be to go out to a desert in a heat wave?"

"What else?" Catherine inquired.

"Potential murder suicide on Birthday Ave."

"Got to love some of those street names. Birthday Ave right of Anniversary Street." Catherine stated.

"Take Nick with you." He handed her the slip. "From all accounts it's a bit of a bloodbath."

"A great way to start the night." Nick got up. "See you later." He winked at Sara before they left.

"Anything for me?" Sara inquired.

"As of yet no, I presumed you'd rather not being out in the desert or at a bloodbath. There will probably be several opportunistic robberies due to lack of power to security systems."

"I'm going to take my paperwork down to the morgue, it will be cooler down there and you can page me whenever we have a case." Sara stated.

"Okay." Grissom agreed.

CSI CSI

"Hey Doc." Sara said as she walked into the morgue. The feel of the temperature difference was immense.

"Sara. Did we have a body that was involved in a case of yours?" He asked.

"No. Since the power is the air conditioning is out too, so it's getting hotter, do you mind if I hang out here and do some paperwork until I get a case?"

"Are you sure that it won't upset your stomach?"

"Dead bodies I can handle the smell of luminol and bleach on the other hand. I'll be fine." She assured him. "And this is the coolest place in Vegas right now."

"Then by all means."

"Thanks Doc."

Sara was almost through with the paperwork when David came through the door with the first of the bodies he'd accompanied back from the scene.

"Hey David."

"Sara." He was a little surprised to see her.

"What have we got David?" Doc Robbins inquired.

"Sophie Vartan, 6, her mother Valerie Vartan 29 and the mother's boyfriend Benjamin Azur 34." David replied. "The mother and daughter have been dead about 3 hours, the guy about 2."

"Sara sorry to kick you out but we need the space."

Just then Sara's pager beeped.

"It's okay." She pulled the pager off her belt. "That's Grissom anyway, got a robbery in a jewellery store. Nothing like power cuts and football games to turn people into hooligans. Thank you for let me stay."

"It's nice to have company that isn't dead once in a while." Robbins told her.

"Bye David." Sara said grabbing up her paperwork.

"Bye." He replied.

"The air conditioning is out at the lab." Robbins explained. "It's cooler here."

"Do you want me to set up the bodies?"

"Get them ready for autopsy." Robbins replied.

CSI CSI

Sara stood by her Denali drinking a bottle of water. Despite it being just after three in the morning the temperature which had dipped a couple of degrees, was now beginning to climb again.

"Sara." Grissom walked over.

"I'm just taking a break, I'll be back to help finish processing in a minute."

"I actually need you to finish processing by yourself. There is another robbery across town."

"Okay. Is there any news on when we're going to get electricity back or when this heat wave is going to break?"

"The power company says they should have the problem fixed by 7 am and I believe it was another few days before we're in for the mother of all storms." Grissom replied.

"Great."

"Keep hydrating." Grissom told her. "And take it easy, PD will be here to secure the scene."

"I know." Sara replied.

"I'll see you later." Grissom left her too it.

The rest of the bottle of water and a quick snack and Sara headed back to work.

TBC


	133. Chapter 133

While Sara finished processing the scene the temperature continued to rise.

Her deodorant was fortunately holding up to the heat but her forehead was dripping with sweat which she was constantly wiping it on her arm.

_Pregnant women were supposed to glow right?_ Sara thought to herself.

When she was sure she had collected all the evidence she got up and carried her things out and started putting them in the Denali.

She gripped the door as a wave of dizziness hit her.

"Are you okay?" One of the officers came over concerned. Grissom had told them to all keep an extra eye on Sara.

"Just a little dizzy." Sara admitted.

"Do you want to sit down? Do you need some water?"

"I don't feel so…" Sara didn't get to finish her sentence before she blacked out and collapsed. The officer caught her before she hit the ground.

"Is everything okay?" Another officer ran over.

"She passed out."

"I'll get an ambulance, she's the pregnant one." Police departments were like small towns everyone knew everything about everyone. "Dispatch, we need an ambulance, one of the CSI's passed out."

"Come on, wake up for me." The other officer tried to wake Sara up.

CSI

"Nicky." Catherine walked in. They were still processing the house.

"Something up."

"It's Sara."

"What?" Nick was instantly on his feet from his crouched position.

"She's fine. She just passed out at a scene. They called an ambulance; one of the officers at the scene caught her before she hit the floor."

"Is she okay?"

"They've taken her to the hospital for a check up, but given this heat passing out is understandable."

"I need to…"

"I've got things covered here." Catherine assured her.

CSI CSI

"Okay Mrs Stokes, you're a little dehydrated." The doctor informed her.

"I've been drink plenty of water." Sara insisted.

"Given the heat passing out is understandable, you're about the tenth pregnant woman who has passed out since midnight. We'll let the IV fluids run through so you'll be here a few hours and then I suggest you go home and enjoy an air conditioned room."

"I work graveyard shift so it's not supposed to be this hot, the power is out in half of Las Vegas until at least 7am and our air-con packed up yesterday. So I think a trip back to the morgue might be in order."

"Morgue."

"It's the coolest place in Vegas apart from a walk in freezer at the moment. Doc Robbins is okay about me hang out there."

"Whatever works for you." The doctor shrugged. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"My husband…" Sara started.

"Do you want someone to call him?" The Doctor offered.

"He's a CSI too, he's probably on his way, just warned the desk." Sara stated.

The doctor returned a few minutes later with a sonogram machine.

"We'll just take a quick look at baby." The doctor told her.

"Can you check it's not twins while you're at it?" Sara requested.

"Do twins run in your family?"

"No, but they do on my husband's side. His mother is a twin, he has twins sisters and one of them has twin boys."

"Let's take a look. This will be cold." He squirted a little gel on her stomach before putting on the wand. He moved it. "Here we go. Here is baby's head, legs are over here, arms."

"Wow." Sara said.

"Pretty impressive. It just looks like one, and baby seems to be doing just fine in there. Just looks like one."

"Good." Sara smiled. "I don't think I'd cope with twins."

"Want to hear the heartbeat?"

"Yes."

He flipped a switch.

"That's fast." Nick said coming in the door.

"Come see." Sara beckoned. "This is my husband Nick."

"Nice to meet you."

Nick took Sara's hand as they watched the baby move on the screen.

"Everything looks good." He hit a button and the machine printed out. "Baby's first picture, great for the fridge."

"Thank you." Sara replied.

"They're both fine. I'll be back to sign your discharge papers in a few hours." The doctor added before he left.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked.

"I'm fine. I just passed out from the heat. They called an ambulance and they insisted I come for a check up, the doctor wants to stay until the drip runs out and then hope the air con comes back on."

TBC


	134. Chapter 134

Sara sent Nick back to work. He'd tried to protest but she told him there wasn't anything he could do but sit and wait with her so he may as well go back to work and be useful and come back and pick her up later.

Sara also insisted that he go and check on her evidence. When she had woken up before the ambulance arrived she knew they were going to insist that she go to the hospital for a check up so she had had one of the officer's sign for all of the evidence piece by piece to assure the chain of custody. Then agree to take it and her Denali right back to the crime lab and have them sign for the all the evidence.

"Hey Nicky." Catherine said when she saw him enter the lab. "I wasn't expecting you back for a while, how's Sara?"

"She's fine. She just fainted because of the heat, the doctor has her on IV fluids and he wants her to wait until it runs out before he releases her. So she insisted I come back to work and go back and pick her up in a few hours."

"That's good news."

"I got there just in time for the doctor to do a sonogram. The baby is about this big and has a really fast heartbeat."

"They do." Catherine had a flashback to when she was pregnant with Lindsay.

"Sara's got a picture."

"Have you told your family yet?" Catherine inquired.

"We're planning on calling them this weekend." Nick replied. "They'll all be there for dinner so it's going to be easier to have one expensive phone call rather than 8."

"Good luck with that."

"I've got to go and check that the cop Sara had sign for all her evidence and bring it here actually managed to log it in correctly. I'll be right back."

"Okay." Catherine agreed.

CSI CSI

Grissom, and when they got back Warrick and Greg both inquired after Sara. Grissom had taken over the evidence in Sara's case as it was formally his case too.

Nick went back to collect Sara from the hospital a few hours later.

"So where do you want to go?" Nick asked as they pulled away from the hospital.

"The doctor suggested I go somewhere cool."

"The power is back on but the house is still has no air conditioning." Nick reminded her. "And I have to go back to the lab."

"Head to the lab then." Sara told him.

"Grissom said to tell you to take the rest of the night, technically morning off."

"If the air conditioning is back I can go to the lab."

"But you can't work." Nick countered.

"So I'll take a nap on the couch until you're done." Sara shrugged.

"Are you sure?"

"Nick I passed out for thirty seconds. I was stood next to a guy with fast reflexes. I'm fine, the baby is fine. Just relax."

"Relax?"

"I'm pregnant not dying."

"Lab it is." Nick headed towards the lab.

"Thank you."

When the got to the lab Sara made a quick dash inside.

"That's so much better compared to earlier." She commented.

"The benefits of having electricity."

The receptionist handed Sara the keys to her Denali.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Couch." Nick instructed.

"Yes sir."

"You're funny." Nick told her.

"Get back to work I can managed to walk that far by myself."

Sara headed for the break room. Sitting on one of the couches she slipped off her shoes, she grabbed a couple of the forensics magazines from the table and sat and read them from cover to cover.

"Hey Sara." Greg walked in and collapsed into a chair. "Feeling better?"

"I'm fine Greg." She assured him. "Although you don't look so hot."

"I like I lost ten pounds in sweat."

"That's a pleasant image and you should replace the water. Glass of water, half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of honey."

"I'm not dehydrated; I've drunk ten bottles of water."

"I drank five, and still ended up on IV fluids for three hours." Sara countered.

"I'll drink so more." He assured her.

TBC


	135. Chapter 135

The heat finally broke just after Sara and Nick got home on Saturday morning into torrential downpours and one of the worst thunderstorms Las Vegas had seen in years.

Sara sat looking out the window watching.

"Hey you okay?" Nick inquired.

"Yes. It's really lighting up out there."

"Storms are great when you're inside, but it's probably going to cause a lot of hassle."

"So did the heat." Sara pointed out.

"What do you want to do about calling my parents?" Nick asked.

"Can we wait until later?" Sara requested. "You can get hit by lightning through phone lines."

"Sure. Do you want something to eat?"

"Pizza, but I'm above calling for one and making some drive all the way over here in this weather."

"I could make one."

"Homemade pizza." Sara weighed up her options. "Sounds good."

"You can have what you like on it without shocking the guy at the shop."

"He asked what I wanted on the pizza."

"I think he was asking if you wanted anchovies not marshmallows."

"Why can't you have marshmallows on a pizza?" Sara inquired.

"I don't think they go with tomato sauce and cheese." Nick replied.

"How about M & M's?"

"Chocolate or peanut?" Nick asked.

"Chocolate."

"This isn't the Princess Diaries." Nick shook his head. "I'll go and find the recipe for the quick pizza dough."

Sara came to watch him work a few minutes later.

"You have flour on your nose." She pointed out.

"Thanks." Nick swiped it off.

Sara grabbed a grape to help tide her over as she watched him make the dough.

"You could grate some cheese." Nick suggested.

"Okay." Sara grabbed the electric grater that they had been given as a wedding present and the cheese from the refrigerator. A minute later. "Done."

"Okay I was hoping that would take longer."

"Don't worry I'll find some other things to put on it." Sara grabbed some things from the fridge and started preparing them.

Nick watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" Sara said.

"Nothing."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

"What do you think of Ben?" Sara asked.

"For what?"

"A name for the pig I thought we'd keep in the back yard."

"You mean for the baby?" Nick asked.

"Yes."

"I thought we weren't supposed to discuss names because there were death threats involved."

"We can have this conversation as long as that book stays banished."

"Why Ben?" Nick inquired.

"It was your great-grandfather's name right?"

"Yes. Benjamin Isaiah Nicholas Stokes."

"Drop the Nicholas." Sara stated. "The rest works."

"What made you think of that?"

"There aren't any Ben's in your family already that are living."

"True." Nick admitted.

"So what do you think?"

"I think it works for a boy. But what about a girl?"

"I think one name for a conversation is enough." Sara replied. "Besides I might change my mind in the next six months."

"Okay."

TBC


	136. Chapter 136

"You know what I'm going to miss?" Sara asked.

"Not having worry about a babysitter if we want to go out?" Nick guessed.

"Now I'm going to worry about that."

"Sorry. What were going to say?"

"I was going to say I'm going to miss being able to sleep on my stomach."

The lights went flickered and then went out.

"Twice in a less than a week is a good advertisement for the power company." Sara stated.

"At least we ate and hopefully everything in the freezer won't melt this time." Nick said optimistically.

"It was an awful thing to do to perfectly good ice-cream."

"How about we just go to bed?" Nick suggested. "It's almost eleven and hopefully the worst of it will be over by the time we get up."

CSI CSI

"So much for the worst of it being over." Sara said as wiped her wet hair back from her face after they had run into the building that night avoiding the torrential rain.

"I guess it's going to rain until its stops."

"Way to state the obvious dear." Sara patted his shoulder. "Don't you appreciate my umbrella now?"

"Yes I shouldn't have made fun of your self opening and closing windproof umbrella that you bought from a home shopping channel."

"That wasn't very sincere. I'm going to find a towel and change my socks."

"Women." Nick muttered.

"What was that?" Greg asked when he came in the door dripping wet.

"Sara didn't appreciate me making fun of an umbrella that she bought from the TV."

"At least she didn't sock you one." Greg told him. "Why my cousin's girlfriend was pregnant he criticised something and ended up with a ten stitches, a black eye and a concussion."

"Sara's not the violent type."

"Nor is my cousin's girlfriend and she was 8 months pregnant at the time."

CSI CSI

"We don't actually have any cases at the moment." Grissom announced. "It seems most people are being sensible and staying in because of the storm and not finding a reason to kill each other."

"That's a first." Warrick joked. "No disputes over a bet or trying to find something to do that doesn't involve getting drenched?"

"Not currently. So everyone use this time to catch up on paperwork." Grissom instructed.

When Grissom got up and left Sara went and poured herself a mug of milk and stuff it in the microwave and waited for it to heat up. When it was done she added some hot chocolate mix and stirred it.

She turned around to find the others looking at her.

"What? I'm cold and I can't have coffee." She shrugged. She just left them too it.

"By the way how did telling your parents go?" Catherine inquired.

"Sara wouldn't let me use the phone in case lightning came down the phone line. Then we slept until 10 so it was too late to call them. We'll call them tomorrow."

"Your parents still don't know?" Warrick questioned.

"Not yet." Nick replied. "Time tide and paperwork wait for no man."

CSI CSI

Through out the shift there was only one case. Warrick and Greg happened to be stood outside Grissom's office at the time so they went with him.

"I'm bored." Catherine sighed.

"Want to play poker?" Sara suggested.

"What are we playing for?" Catherine inquired.

"M & M's." Sara stated.

"Works for me." Catherine replied.

"What works for you?" Nick asked entering the break room.

"We're going to play poker for M & M's." Sara explained. "You want in?"

"Sure."

Sara handed each other one of her unopened packets of M & Ms.

"Five card stud. Nothing wild."

TBC


	137. Chapter 137

Nick was concentrating trying to decide whether he wanted anymore cards.

Catherine and Sara's eyes met and they both nodded.

"Hey." Nick protested as M & M's hit him.

"It's not a difficult decision." Sara told him. "It's not like it's for a million bucks."

"I fold."

"I see your four red M & M's and raise you three yellows." Catherine told her.

"I like this we're out working hard and getting soaked and they are sitting around playing poker." Warrick said from the doorway.

"We've done all the paperwork and we're waiting for a case." Nick told him.

"This is easier than going to a casino." Sara added. "And I'm all in." She pushed her M & M's into the middle of the table.

"What do you think Warrick is she bluffing?" Catherine asked.

"Probably."

"Nicky?" Catherine inquired.

"I can only tell she's bluffing when we play strip poker."

"That's because I don't bluff." Sara winked at him.

"Too much information." Greg stated.

"Okay I'm all in too." Catherine agreed and pushed in her M & M's. "Full house Kings over threes."

"Sorry." Sara apologised laying down her cards. "Royal Flush."

"No one gets two Royal Flushes in half an hour." Catherine stated.

"Considering I only have ten left and the two you threw at me, I'd say Sara wins." Nick suggested.

"Good because I have to pee."

"That's too much information too." Greg pointed out.

"It'll only get worse." Catherine said.

CSI CSI

"Okay that has to be the first shift where I haven't done anything." Sara said as she stood at the door waiting for Nick to do up his jacket.

"It's probably the only shift you'll ever get like it."

"I'm driving." Sara told him.

"Fine."

Sara put up the umbrella and they both ran to the car, grateful for central locking, they both slipped inside.

Sara handed him the umbrella and her purse and started the car. She drove out of the parking lot.

"We live in the other direction." Nick pointed out.

"I'm hungry I want breakfast."

"So we'll go home and make breakfast."

"We don't have what I want for breakfast." Sara countered.

"Okay." He wasn't going to argue with her.

When they reached the dinner Sara parked the car and grabbed her umbrella and purse and they ran inside and slid into a booth.

"What can I get you?" A waitress came over.

"I'll have Swiss cheese omelette with a side of bacon and hash browns and an orange juice please." Nick told her.

"And for you?" She asked Sara.

"I'll take a bacon cheeseburger with everything except pickle and a strawberry milkshake."

"Okay." She noted their order down.

"I have a question." Nick said.

"Go ahead."

"What happened to being a vegetarian?" Nick inquired.

"I still am."

"I don't think bacon cheeseburgers fit into that." Nick pointed out.

"Well your kid is craving it so I'm eating it under protest."

"My kid?" Nick questioned.

"I'll lay claim it to while it's cute and adorable, when it's driving me crazy it's yours." Sara told him.

"Back to the general pronoun."

"Well you took exception when I called it a he."

"Hey I don't mind either way." Nick told her.

"Me neither. But then again I didn't get much say genetically." Sara pointed out.

"True."

TBC


	138. Chapter 138

When they finally got home they decided to wait to a more reasonable hour to call Nick's family.

While Sara took a bath Nick decided it was as good as any a time to write out the checks for all the bills.

"You look pensive." Sara walked into the room dressed in her robe drying her hair on a towel.

"Do you know what this thousand dollars was for?" He showed her the bank statement.

"Ah." Sara said.

"I guess that means you do."

"I was mean to tell you about that."

"About what exactly?" Nick asked.

"It was when things went crazy at work and I didn't see you for three days."

"What about it?"

Sara got up and walked into the bedroom and returned and set the pack in front of him.

Nick studied it.

"It's a bank account."

"It's a high interest savings account. You need a thousand dollars to start it and then need to make regular payments into it."

"Okay. What's it for?"

"College fund." Sara replied. "I figured we could manage a couple hundred bucks a month. By the kid gets to be 18 it should be up to about forty four thousand plus whatever the interest adds." She paused. "You're not mad are you?"

"No I think it's a great idea, I just wish you'd mentioned it before."

"I went to the bank to pay in some money and I was reading this pamphlet about something to do with college funds and the next thing you I was talking to one of the account managers setting it up. I was going to tell you but things were crazy and I forgot."

"Hopefully the kid will be as smart as you and get a scholarship." Nick pulled her into his lap.

"It cheaper to send a kid to a university in the same state as you live."

"I know. We all worked our asses of to get scholarships or partial scholarships and then had jobs to help pay."

"This is why we're not having seven kids." Sara told him.

"How many were you thinking?"

"Two or three seem to work for your brother and sisters." Sara replied.

"So two or three huh?"

"Ask me again after the whole child birth process if I don't kill you."

"Nice to know." He ran a hand over her stomach. "What exactly do you have on under that?"

"I just got out of the bath what do you think I have on under this?" Sara inquired.

"Perhaps I should investigate." Nick suggested.

"Bed." Sara stated. "I have standards."

"What kind of standards?"

"Very demanding ones. Think you're up to the challenge?"

"I'll try my best."

"I bet you will." Sara kissed him.

A/N: A short chapter. I promise that next chapter will involve telling the parents.


	139. Chapter 139

"Are you ready to do this?" Nick asked Sara.

"No. You call them while I go to the bathroom."

"I thought you liked my family."

"I _love_ your family but I'm hoping they'll be done screaming by the time I'm done."

"Okay." Nick had to concede she had a point his family did tend to get a little enthusiastic at the news their numbers were increasing.

He waited until Sara was out of the room before he picked up the phone and dialled the number for his parents' house.

"_Stokes residence."_ One of his sisters answered.

"Hey Carrie."

"_Nicky. You don't write, you don't call."_ She joked.

"I spoke to you last week." He reminded her.

"_So how's things? How's Sara?"_

"She's fine. Vegas went through a major heat wave now we're in the middle of a storm."

"_Nice. We've just got your typical Texas weather here."_

"Is Mom there?"

"_That's nice little brother, we were just catching up."_

"I'm sure I'll talk to you later but I need to talk to Mom first." Nick told her.

"_Okay. Let me just find her." _ Carrie replied.

It took a few seconds.

"_Nicholas."_ His mother came on the line. _"It's nice to hear from you." _

"Hey Mom, how's Dad?"

"You're father is just fine."

"Good, good."

"_Nick...?"_ She asked.

"Mom, maybe you should sit down." Nick suggested.

"_Is something wrong?" _She instantly asked.

"No. I have some news and I need you to sit down before I tell you."

"_Okay, I'm sitting."_ Jillian informed him. _"What's going on?"_

"Okay." He paused. "Sara's pregnant."

Nick held the phone away from his ear as she shrieked.

"I guess I didn't miss the screaming." Sara returned.

"You might want to take a seat this could take a while." Nick suggested.

"You know the storm could unfortunately knock out the phones." Sara pointed out.

"They'll calm down and remember they are on the phone in a while."

"What are you going to want for dinner?" Sara inquired.

"What are you feeling like?" Nick asked.

"There's a lasagne in the freezer which didn't melt. Or we could make pasta salad."

"Either is fine." Nick replied. He lift the receiver to his ear he could still here them all discussing it loudly and excitedly. "Think the storm will let up soon?"

"I'll see what the weather channel says."

Sara found the remote and put the TV on mute while she switched to the weather channel.

"Looks like we have a few more hours of it at least. It will probably be tomorrow before it lets up."

"Great." Nick sighed.

"_Nicky."_

Nick heard from the phone.

"Stopped screaming then?" Nick smiled.

"_Tell us the details."_

TBC


	140. Chapter 140

"Well that was fun." Sara commented after they had hung up.

"Trust me it's worse when you're there in person. You should have been there when they found out about Lara-Jo." Nick sighed. "I should also warn you that we're probably going to get bombarded with baby clothes."

"Saves us shopping." Sara shrugged.

"You know you really took that in your stride."

"I've meet your family before remember." Sara kissed him. "I think now would be a good time for a nap."

"Want some company?" Nick asked.

"Sure."

CSI CSI

"Sorry we're late." Sara rushed into the break room but Grissom was the only one there. "We were asleep when the blackout knocked out the alarm and then we had a flat tire so we had to call a cab."

"Where's Nick?"

"He was just paying the cab driver."

"We've got a bus and four cars that over turned after shots were fired on them. I have Catherine, Warrick and Greg headed out there already. Nick and I are going as well; I need you here to start processing things when we send them back."

"Basically you don't want me out in the rain in case I get sick." Sara guessed.

"Fingerprinting and DNA are both backlogged help out there until we get anything back to you."

"Sure." Sara replied.

"If you hurry you can grab Nick before he starts to dry off."

CSI CSI

Sara spent a couple hours in DNA before someone came to tell her that her evidence was there.

She took blood samples from the bullets, dusted for fingerprints before taking them to Bobby for him to analyse.

Sara went back to work analysing what other evidence she had. Blood samples went to DNA, trace evidence went to trace.

Sara had checked in with Bobby after she had dropped some evidence she no longer needed in the evidence locker.

With the information she received she was headed to call Brass when she stopped and burst out laughing at the sight before her.

"It's not funny." Greg muttered.

"It is from my perspective."

Greg was covered head to toe in mud, Warrick wasn't much better.

"It's really not. It's still pouring out there." Warrick stated.

"If it makes you feel any better we got a match on the gun, and the registered owner is also the registered owner of a blue 1969 Chevy Camaro."

"Matches the witness descriptions."

"I'm just going to call Brass. Perhaps you should both go and take showers and change, actually just stand outside for a few minute and you'll be fine."

"You're real hilarious today."

"Just getting into to practice for being a lab rat in a couple months." Sara shrugged. "I'll put some fresh coffee on for you as soon as I've called Brass."

"Sounds good." Warrick stated.

CSI CSI

It turned out it was the owners son who had been in possession of the car and had been pulled over for speeding and was taken in for a DUI by the time the APB for the car had gone out. He still had the gun in the car which hadn't taken that long to match up along with his finger prints.

"I hear you solved the case." A decidedly damp Catherine returned to the lab.

"Yes. Sorry." Sara replied.

"Saves us some work."

"He confessed too when confronted with the gun and his fingerprints along with the car matching."

"Nice easy case, luckily no-one was seriously hurt." Catherine sighed.

"Did anyone get any pictures of Greg and Warrick?"

"Nick." Catherine replied.

"Coffee's only a couple hours old."

"The cars are coming in so we can extract the bullets, but I doubt they'll let you help with that."

"I just need to sign this and I'm headed back to DNA."

TBC


	141. Chapter 141

"That's a definite bump you've got there." Catherine commented to Sara month or so later.

"I noticed."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm not half way through and I'll be glad when it's over." Sara sighed.

"Are you going find out the sex?" Catherine asked.

"I told Nick we could. It will make it easier when we know whether we have to pick another name or not."

"You've picked one?" Catherine asked.

"Benjamin after his great grandfather if it's a boy." Sara replied.

"That's sweet."

"It will probably change before then but it's a start."

"And will probably be a girl because they are so much harder to pick names for. We went through about fifty before we settled on Lindsey."

"With Nick's family there are thirty names to avoid." Sara pointed out.

"True."

"Ooh."

"Are you okay?" Catherine inquired.

"Give me your hand."

Sara put Catherine's hand on her stomach so she could feel the gentle fluttering.

"How long has it been doing that?"

"I finally figured out what it was last week, it was only when I was trying to go to sleep yesterday that I realised it was strong enough that Nick could feel it too."

"It makes it real." Catherine suggested.

"Are you two coming?" Greg asked from the doorway.

"Five minutes, I need a bathroom break." Sara replied.

"Be right there." Catherine added.

Nick handed Sara her bottle of juice when she sat down.

"Thanks." She whispered.

"Assignments. Catherine, Greg dead patron at Olympic Gardens, started foaming at the mouth and collapsed on the floor. Greg behave yourself."

"I can handle a strip club." Greg assured him.

"I'm sure you will it's Men of Olympus night." Catherine stated.

"And how do you know that?" Warrick asked.

"The flyer stuff through my door." Catherine replied. "Some mail I have to grab before Lindsey sees it."

"Nick, Warrick you're with me at a suspicious fire, three fatalities." Grissom continued. "And Sara."

"Let me guess lab work."

"Suspected date rape. The victim is at Desert Palms." Grissom handed her the slip.

"Okay."

Nick whispered something to her.

"Grow up." Sara replied. She took her juice and left.

"What did you say?" Catherine asked.

"Doesn't matter." Nick sighed. "She's just a little temperamental."

"I think you were looking for the phrase 'mood swings'." Warrick patted him on the back. "It will probably only get worse."

"Is she going to be okay to…" Grissom started.

"Don't finish that." Catherine warned. "You know how Sara is about her job. She only gets to do it for two more weeks before she gets yanked out of the field. Let her do it." She walked out.

"This is going to be a fun night." Greg sighed before following her.

"She'll be fine." Nick assured Grissom. "It's just me that annoys her at the moment. She threw two cushions at me for asking whether she wanted parmesan on her pasta."

"At least she didn't throw anything that would injure you." Warrick pointed out.

"If she throws me out expect a knock on the door."

"We live in a city full of hotels man." Warrick remarked. "Just avoid the rooms where we've had cases."

TBC


	142. Chapter 142

"Please tell me you got some DNA?" Sara requested when she went to see Mia.

"Sorry the only samples I got match the victim." Mia apologised.

"Great." Sara sighed.

"Case not going well?"

"The doctors say she was raped but I have no evidence to say it happened other than the physical ones. No trace, no DNA."

"What about where it happened?" Mia inquired.

"Last thing she remembers was getting home from work and wanting to take a bath. She doesn't remember anything after that; she doesn't even know how she got to the hospital."

"What about cab companies?" Mia asked.

"PD is chasing them all down to see if anyone did a drop off at the hospital to find out if she took a cab where she was picked up on. The first piece of footage on any of the hospital surveillance cameras is her staggering into the emergency room and collapsing on the floor."

"Don't they have a camera outside?"

"They still use tape and the machine broke for that camera went out last night and is still down for maintenance. I don't know if there is much else I can do."

"Why don't you take a break?" Mia suggested. "You look tired."

"I'm not tired, just nauseous and craving the biggest steak I can find."

"I thought you were a vegetarian."

"I am. It gets one bacon cheeseburger a week and that's it." Sara explained.

"Steak has to be Daddy's genes kicking in."

"If you find the gene for that let me know." Sara requested rubbing her stomach. "Especially if you find out how to switch it off."

"Will do."

CSI

Sara was sat on the couch with her feet up and her eyes closed when Greg came to get himself some coffee.

Sara opened her eyes.

"Sleeping on the job?" Greg joked.

"Trying to Zen a little Divine inspiration."

"I'd say that's mixing your religions." He smiled "Case not going well?"

"She got drugged with Rohypnol and raped and I have no evidence. She went home from work and doesn't remember anything until after she got to the hospital. There is nothing in her apartment to indicate that she got it there. Since no-one knows where she was after seven and I have absolutely evidence to help with that he's going to get away with."

"She wasn't planning on going out?" Greg asked.

"No. By all rights she should be in her apartment sleeping. No phone calls or credit card activity to help. None of the cab companies didn't have any drop offs at Desert Palms around the time she got there. She had her purse, keys, ID and money still with her, no receipts. No trace."

"Hence looking for Zen Divine inspiration." Greg concluded.

"And trying not to throw up."

"How about some water?" Greg offered.

"The kid wants steak."

"I don't think we have that in the fridge. Or that you can get it delivered, maybe Philly Cheese Steak."

"I'm resisting it."

"How's that working out for you?" Greg inquired.

"Bite me." Sara replied.

"I'll pass I have to get back to work. See you later."

CSI

By the end of her shift Sara's case was still seriously stalled so she had to leave it to the Detective in charge to keep investigating.

She was tired, hungry and very grouchy.

Since Nick was going to be stuck at the lab pulling a double Sara drove herself home.

She made herself some cereal and toast but promptly threw it up.

"I'm hungry kid; I need to eat for your benefit as well as mine." She told it, the baby moved. "We don't have steak, will you settle for bacon?"

Sara managed to keep down a bacon sandwich and some milk.

When she was done eating, she stripped took a cool shower and then slipping a pair of Nick's boxer shorts and one of his t-shirts she climbed into bed and went to sleep.

TBC


	143. Chapter 143

Sara woke up to find Nick sitting on the bed watching her.

"You know that's pretty disconcerting."

"Sorry." Nick apologised and gave her a quick kiss.

"How'd your night go?"

"Long. Greg mentioned there was no evidence in your case."

"I know she was raped but where, when and by whom I have no evidence to give me any clues." Sara sighed.

"You can't solve them all."

"Your kid wasn't doing much to help."

"My kid?"

"I have definitive proof that it's yours."

"Who else's did you exactly think it was?" Nick inquired.

"You know what I mean."

"What's this proof?"

"I've been craving steak."

"Steak?" Nick repeated.

"The biggest juiciest steak in Las Vegas."

"Did you give in?" Nick inquired.

"After I threw up my cereal and toast we compromised on a bacon sandwich."

"Negotiating with the kid already." Nick smiled.

"It's not funny. It doesn't seem to understand the term vegetarian."

"I wouldn't expect it to. But if you still want steak I know a great place."

"Don't tell it that." Sara groaned.

"Sorry."

"I have to pee." Sara crawled out of bed.

CSI

Sara was up and dressed by the time Nick woke up.

"Want some breakfast?" Sara inquired. "Which seems like a stupid thing to ask at 10pm."

"Toast's fine." Nick replied.

"Toast it is."

"How are you and your cravings?" Nick asked.

"I still can't eat toast or cereal." Sara replied. "Or anything remotely breakfast related. Bacon flavour chips seem acceptable at the moment."

"Sorry." Nick apologised.

"It's not me you need to talk to."

Nick walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Kid this is your father let your mother eat what she wants please."

"Oh god." Sara said.

"What?"

"Mother."

"Yeah?" Nick was a little confused.

"Can you really see me as someone's mother?" Sara asked.

"Yes. You'll be a great Mom."

"I didn't have the best example."

"That does matter. You'll still be a great Mom." Nick assured her. "It thinks so to."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. We'll figure it all out together I promise."

Sara turned around so she could hug him properly.

The toaster popped.

"Breakfasts ready." Sara whispered.

"It can wait."

"Oh god." Sara pulled out his arms and ran to the bathroom.

Nick quickly buttered the toast and wolfed it down to hide the evidence.

"Are you okay?" He asked from the bathroom doorway.

"I'm supposed to be over this by now." Sara sighed. "I've thrown up more in the last twenty-four hours that I did the whole of last week."

"Maybe it's going through a growth spirit so you get the extra hormones which make you more susceptible."

"This is the one occasion where a scientific explanation isn't appropriate." Sara stated.

"Sorry."

TBC


	144. Chapter 144

"Hey Nick." Sara stood in the doorway of the room he was working on. She was on her first official day of sticking to the lab.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Great I _love_ being in the lab."

"It's for a good cause." Nick pointed out.

"Maybe if the good cause stopped kicking my bladder we'd be okay." Sara stated.

"It's just trying to get your attention."

"Trust me it has my attention." Sara rubbed her hand over her stomach. "I shouldn't be this fat at five months pregnant. And if you say it's for a good cause I'll throttle you."

"Okay." Nick held up his hands in surrender. "So just a long night?"

"Actually I came to see if you were still going to be able to make it to the appointment. I know getting it at 10 was a bad idea but it was the only time they had available."

"I'll be there." Nick assured her. "I'm not missing the ultrasound."

"Good. I should get back; if you hear any screams just ignore them it will be me killing Hodges."

"Got stuck in trace?" Nick questioned.

"He's backed up." Sara stated. "So I have to help out."

"It's only for a few months."

"We'll see which of us survives that long."

"My money is on you." Nick winked at her.

"Let's just say it's good I don't have my gun."

"I'll see you later."

"Bye."

CSI CSI

"Are you okay?" Nick asked Sara as she shuffled uncomfortably in her seat.

"I need to pee." Sara replied.

"You know you can't you need a full bladder to help with the contrast."

"That was all well and good until they told us there was going to be a twenty minute delay."

"I'm sure it won't be long." He squeezed her hand.

"Five minutes then I have to go." Sara compromised.

"Sara Stokes." They called out three and half minutes later.

Sara handed Nick her purse and stood up and walked into the room.

It took a minute or two to set up.

"This maybe cold." The doctor poured some gel onto Sara's stomach.

It took a minute or two for the doctor to check out the necessary information but Nick and Sara didn't mind they just watched the monitor.

"Baby looks happy and healthy with a good strong heartbeat. Did you want to know the sex?"

"Yes please." Sara replied.

"It looks like you're having a boy. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Sara responded.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Am I supposed to be this fat?" Sara asked.

"Different women put the weight on in different places. You just seem to have put it on your stomach. You should gain about 25 -35lbs over the whole pregnancy. But looking at your weight you're doing just fine. How's your diet?"

"I try to keep it healthy but the baby doesn't quite understand that I'm a vegetarian and craves meat, to the point where I throw up anything else I eat."

"So you've reached a compromise?"

"Bacon sandwiches and cheese burgers once a week."

"Try and keep it reasonably healthy and you should be fine. Anything else you need to know?" She handed them a picture.

"I think we're good." Sara replied.

"Make an appointment to come back in a month and ask the receptionist to give some information on the local child birth classes. I'm sure you can find one that will fit in with your schedule over the next few months. Just try and get plenty of rest when you can and if you have any questions you have my number."

"Thank you." Sara told her.

"I'll give you a minute." The doctor told them.

TBC


	145. Chapter 145

"Okay, you need to walk that way so you don't walk into the doorframe." Sara moved Nick off of his collision course as they arrived at work that night. "Why don't you sit down?" She steered him and sat him down. "I'll be back I have to go to the bathroom."

Sara almost ran into Warrick.

"Hey girl slow down."

"I have to pee, sorry."

"Then go ahead."

"Can you do me a favour?" Sara requested.

"Sure."

"Can you pry the scan picture out of Nick's hand? He's been in a bit of daze since we saw the doctor this morning."

"That was over twelve hours ago."

"He slept for eight of them." Sara said optimistically.

"Everything okay?" Warrick asked.

"Just fine."

"Boy or girl?"

"Does it matter?" Sara inquired.

"Well it does if Greg owes me five bucks." Warrick stated.

"Which did you pick?"

"Boy."

"Then Greg owes you some money." Sara told him.

"Congratulations." He gave her a quick hug.

"I really do have to pee." Sara said.

"Go ahead." Warrick told her.

Warrick stood watching Nick for a few seconds before he entered the room. He banged his hand on the table to get his attention.

"What?" Nick turned around.

"Are you going to show me your kid's picture or are you trying to refine your Superman burning eye ray thing?"

"Huh?"

"The picture. Sara says you haven't let it go since the doctor gave it to you this morning. So can I see it?"

Nick handed it to him.

"He looks nothing like you." Warrick joked.

"So Sara mentioned he's a boy then?"

"Yeah. Nice shooting first time."

"Er thanks." Nick wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"So how do you feel?"

"Petrified." Nick admitted.

"Hey the kid will probably have Sara's brains so he'll be okay."

"Hey." Nick protested.

"Try talking to your to your wife rather than staring at a picture." Warrick suggested. "Feeling him kick is probably more real than a picture and she's probably as terrified as you are."

"She set up a college fund."

"What?"

"A while ago, she set up a college fund. She didn't tell me until I noticed the money missing from our bank account."

"That just sounds practical." Warrick stated.

"Practical?"

"Nick, Sara didn't exactly have the stable childhood you got. A drunken abusive father who got killed by her mother and then being shuffled around foster homes until she was 18. Isn't there a slightest chances that she wants to be able to do something to give him that stability she didn't get and right now there isn't much she can do other than start a college fund. Which considering how much it's going to cost by the time he's old enough to go, just sensible unless you're planning on hit a big win at one of the casinos which is highly unlikely since the house nine times out of ten wins."

"You may have a point. When did you become the sensible rational one?"

"When you freaked out because your kid is going to be a boy." Warrick replied.

TBC


	146. Chapter 146

"I'm sorry for being insensitive." Nick apologised.

"Nick if you're being insensitive I'll let you know." Sara told him.

"You don't think I'm being insensitive?"

"No, I just don't think staring at a picture will get you anywhere." Sara replied. "He wriggles just fine by himself."

"Can I?"

"He's asleep right now." Sara admitted.

"Okay." Nick sounded a little disappointed.

"Did you need me to analyse something?"

"Look at these and tell me what's missing." He handed her some photographs.

"Why do you have two sets of photographs of the same place?" Sara asked.

"One set the realtor took yesterday morning. The other I took a few hours ago."

"Do you want to go and grab me some water while I look at these?" Sara suggested.

"Sure."

Nick went off to grab her a bottle of water.

"Warrick?" Sara called as she saw him walk passed.

"Yes?" He stepped into the room.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Warrick was a little confused.

"For whatever you said to Nick."

"I didn't say anything he didn't know already. He just needed someone to point it out to him."

"Well thank you anyway."

"You're welcome. I have to go." He told her.

"Go."

"Have a good night." Warrick smiled.

"You too."

Nick returned a few minutes later none the wiser and set the bottle of water on the table.

"Find anything?" He inquired.

"Do you remember those spot the difference puzzles from when you were a kid?" Sara asked.

"Yes."

"Sometimes it was so obvious that it was staring you in the face that you couldn't see it." She continued.

"So what did I miss?"

"Lamps." She showed him the two pictures where it was obvious that the lamps were missing. "They look expensive too."

"You would think I would notice missing lamps." Nick sighed.

"You knew something was missing that's a start." She patted his hand. "Also the items on the desk are all reversed."

"What?"

Sara pointed out where every item on the desk was an exact mirror image.

"Seeing as everything in the background is in the same place in both shots, it can't be someone just flipped the negative."

"I need to fingerprint everything on that desk." Nick stated.

"It would be a good start."

"Thanks." Nick told her.

"If you need any help I'll just be here doing nothing."

"What about helping out in DNA?"

"They're find and don't need help for once."

"Trace?" Nick suggested.

"Grissom suggested I stay away from Hodges until my urge to kill him subsides. So I'm thinking some time in the next millennia."

"I'm sure something will come up that you can help with soon." Nick told her hoping it would help appeased her obvious growing level of boredom.

"Being pregnant doesn't mean I can do my job. Just certain aspects of it."

"It will all work out." Nick assured her. "I need to go back and look at the desk."

"Have fun."

"I'll see you later."

"I'll be here." Sara sighed.

TBC


	147. Chapter 147

As time went by Sara got bigger to the point where it was impossible to lean over the layout tables, so what she could do was restricted even further. She was currently sat watching three computer monitors running scans for fingerprints and bored out of her mind.

"You look about ready to pop." Catherine commented.

"Not for another two months." Sara sighed. "Apparently I'm just one of those women who happens to look like they really have swallowed a house when they are pregnant."

"Get fed up?"

"You have no idea."

"You go on maternity leave soon right?"

"Another six weeks of looking at fingerprints and not much else. I figured I'd spend as long as I could here and then I'd have the extra time after he's born."

"Sounds reasonable." Catherine agreed. "So have you been baby shopping yet?"

"I'm still trying to figure out which is the safest of everything."

"You can only figure so much out with buying one of everything and testing it until destruction."

"I know."

"You should ask your sister-in-laws what they bought. It might help." Catherine suggested as her pager went. "My DNA results are in I'll see you later."

"Okay."

CSI CSI

Catherine caught up with Nick later that night.

"Hey Nicky."

"Oh hey Cath."

"Can I get your Mom's phone number?" Catherine requested.

"Why?" Nick inquired.

"I thought I'd throw Sara a baby shower and invite your Mom and any of your sisters who can get out here."

"I'm sure she'd like that." Nick scribbled his parent's number on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "And they should be able to use all those frequent flyer miles my Dad has racked up."

"Any day bad for you?" Catherine inquired.

"As long as it doesn't clash with her doctor's appointments we're good." Nick replied.

"I'll talk to your mother and see what I can figure out."

"Just let me know if you need any help with anything."

"What exactly do you have?" Catherine inquired. "Sara said you hadn't been baby shopping."

"She won't buy a stroller, crib, or car seat until she's read all the information she can find on the subject. There's less arguments if I let her do it her way. We've got a load of baby clothes my sisters sent and her brother but apart from that we really need to go shopping."

"Well the shower will help with a lot of that."

"Okay." Nick agreed.

"See you later."

CSI CSI

"Sara." Greg walked in. "Do you have a match on my prints yet?"

Sara turned the monitor to face him. It was flashing no match.

"Okay thanks."

"Nice to see you too Greg, I'm fine thanks for asking."

"Sorry." He replied. "I'm just a little caught up in the case."

"Having a case must be nice." Sara said.

"I'm guessing you don't like fingerprint analysis."

"I like it fine when I actually get to do my job as well."

"The giant bump gets in the way." Greg stated.

"You think I don't know that. Ouch." Sara rubbed her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Greg instantly asked.

"Just a bruised kidney." Sara replied. "Sometimes I feel like that woman from Alien."

TBC


	148. Chapter 148

"Sara, honey." Nick gently shook her awake.

"Go away." Sara groaned. "I'm sleeping."

"I need you to wake up."

"House burning down?" Sara asked.

"No the house isn't burning down." He said with a smile.

"Then go away."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?" Sara opened her eyes and looked at him.

"We need to go somewhere."

"Where?" Sara asked.

"I can't tell you."

"Then I'm going back to sleep."

"You're being stubborn today." Nick pointed out.

"You get pregnant and then you can get to call me stubborn." Sara informed him.

"I promised I wouldn't tell you where I was taking you as it's supposed to be a surprise."

"What is?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." Nick pointed out. "I let you sleep as long as I could. You have to get up now so you're not late."

"The actual act of getting up is a little hard." Sara stated. "If you haven't noticed I have a major bump."

"I can help with that."

"If this is a lousy surprise you're sleeping on the couch for the next few months."

"Deal." Nick kissed her. "Let's get you up."

"I think you'll need a crane."

"You're not that big and you still look beautiful."

"I feel like a whale. Seriously this kid is going is going to weigh ten pounds when he's born." Nick managed to get her sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hey!" Sara protested. "Give me your hand."

"Wow!" Nick said. "I think he objects to the ten pound comment."

"I think he objects to me getting up."

"I think that's you projecting." Nick corrected. "So what do you want to wear?"

"That depends on where I'm going." Sara stated.

"How about that blue dress you like?" Nick suggested getting up and opening the closet.

"Is it my appropriate than what I have on?" Sara inquired.

"Yes. Since you're wearing my shirt and boxer shorts."

"Then fine, but I have to pee first."

CSI

It took a lot of cajoling to get Sara out of the house, especially when he had to talk her into wearing a blindfold.

"You haven't done something stupid have you?" Sara asked.

"No." Nick replied. "I'm just providing transportation."

"Right." Sara didn't quite believe him. "So where are we going?"

"The whole point of the blindfold is so you don't know where you're going."

"The whole point seems to be driving me crazy. Remember what the doctor said about hormones."

"I remember Grissom suggested you stop threatening to strangle Hodges."

"Don't you want to strangle him?" Sara asked.

"Yes but…"

"I'm just articulating it." Sara shuffled in her seat.

"Are you okay?"

"He's just trying to shuffle under my ribs." She rubbed her stomach.

"We'll be there in five minutes and everything will be fine."

"Promise?"

"Of course it will be."

"I meant the five minutes because I have to pee."

"Oh." Nick said. "We'll be there soon."

TBC


	149. Chapter 149

"You'd better not let me trip Nicholas Stokes." Sara warned him as helped her out the car.

"I won't." He gave her a quick reassuring kiss.

"We're not on the Strip at least." Sara guessed from how quiet it was.

"No. There is a sloped." He warned her as he led her up to the door.

Nick rang the bell.

"Nick what's going?" Sara asked.

"Just wait." The door opened. "Hi." He mouthed. "Okay there is a step up." He told her.

Nick led her inside the people were quiet so as not to spoil the surprise.

"Close your eyes." He requested.

"Nick?" Sara shook her head and closed her eyes.

Nick moved behind her and undid the blindfold.

"SURPRISE!" They all yelled.

Sara was surprised to see Jillian, three of Nick's sisters, Erin and Lara Jo and various other women she knew sat around Catherine's living room.

Sara turned her head and looked at Nick.

"Have fun. I'll see you later."

"Where are you going?" Sara inquired.

"Baby showers are girly things; I'm going to play pool with Warrick and Greg. Call me when you're done and I'll come and pick you up." He gave her a quick kiss goodbye. "Bye ladies."

"Come and sit down." Catherine guided her to a seat.

CSI CSI

"So how did Sara take the surprise?" Greg inquired as he broke the balls, scattering them across the table.

"She was annoyed that I woke her up, annoyed that I made her get dressed, she threatened to make me sleep on the couch, she was annoyed when I made her get in the car, even more annoyed when I made her wear her a blind fold. I think she was about ready to kill me by the time we got to Catherine's."

"So did she like the surprise?"

"I kind of split before she got that far." Nick admitted.

"So you just dumped her there and ran?" Warrick questioned.

"I said goodbye and told her to call me when they were done so I could go and pick her up. Mom and Catherine will look after her."

"Why did she marry you again?" Greg asked.

"Lost a bet." Nick took his shot and potted the ball.

"She did laugh through the whole thing." Warrick reminded Greg.

"True."

"Sara's fine, she gets to open a lot of free stuff that will save us spending hours going around a store."

"So you dumped her at a baby shower so you didn't have to spend so much time in a store?" Warrick queried.

"It was Catherine's idea to throw her a shower, she arranged it all, and all I had to do was get her there." Nick stated. "Besides showers are more in the women's arena."

"Right." Warrick said, he nudged Greg who nodded. Warrick let out a loud whistle.

"What are you doing?"

"Turn around." Greg suggested.

Nick turned around to see Grissom, Brass, Archie and several of the other guys from the lab appear with balloons, a cake and several gifts.

"What's this?" Nick asked.

"Sort of a macho baby shower." Greg replied.

"Catherine and co sorted out the practical girly shower; we thought we'd provide the typically male things a growing boy needs." Warrick added.

"It was Catherine's idea." Greg told him.

TBC


	150. Chapter 150

Catherine walked out into the back garden where Sara was sat on a bench getting some air.

"Having fun?" Catherine came and sat next to her.

"It's all a little overwhelming." Sara admitted rubbing her stomach.

"We thought it might help cut down on the shopping trips."

"It was a good idea; I just wish I'd had a little advanced warning."

"That would have ruined the surprise element." Catherine pointed out.

"How did you con Nick into helping?"

"I just asked." She paused. "Do you want to know what he's doing right now?"

"Playing pool with Greg and Warrick." Sara replied.

"Actually he's having his own guy baby shower."

"Guy baby shower?" Sara questioned.

"Since he's going to be a boy they are buying him little baseball mitts and footballs." Catherine explained.

"Whose idea was that?" Sara asked.

"Mine. But Greg and Warrick ran with it."

"I would have loved to see Nick's face."

"Do you want to come back and join the party?" Catherine inquired.

"You're going to have to help me up."

"I can do that."

CSI CSI

Nick's cell phone beeped.

**_Having fun? S xx _**

Nick smiled before responding.

_I guess Catherine told you then. Do you need me to pick you up? N xx_

His cell beeped a minute later.

**_She told me. No your mom will take me home. See you later. S xx _**

"Who are you talking to?" Greg inquired.

"Sara." Nick replied. "Catherine told her what's happening. I also told her to let me know if she needed a ride. Mom's going to take her home."

"Since she's taken care of, enjoy the rest of this shindig we don't have to be a work for another four and a half hours."

"Shindig?" Nick questioned.

"It's a word."

CSI CSI

"So how long are you staying?" Sara asked as Nick's family sat around her living room.

"We're heading back tomorrow morning." Carrie replied.

"You flew all the way out here for a baby shower."

"That's what family do." Jillian told her.

"I can't believe they managed to arrange this without me knowing."

"It seems Catherine can be a very sneaky woman when she wants to be."

"I'm just waiting for it to be over." Sara rubbed her stomach.

"It may drag for the next few weeks and then you'll wonder where the time goes to because they get so big so fast." Erin told her.

"I'm just concerned with how big I am."

"What does your doctor say?" Carrie inquired.

"That I'm doing fine." Sara replied.

"As long as they aren't worried you shouldn't be."

"I know that logically."

TBC


	151. Chapter 151

"And then he fell over…" Jillian stopped when the front door opened.

"What?" Nick looked paranoid as everyone looked at him.

"Enjoy your party?" Sara inquired from her position on the couch.

"It was interesting." He replied.

"Did we get anything nice?"

"A baby baseball mitt, a baby football, Greg offered to take him to a strip club when he turns eighteen."

"I don't think so." Sara stated.

"It's Greg he'll have probably forgotten by then."

Sara yawned.

"Sorry guys I'm going to have to go and take a nap before we have to go to work." Sara apologised.

"We're leaving first thing in the morning so we'd better say goodbye now." Jillian suggested.

"You only came for the party and the night?" Sara questioned.

"I'd never seen Vegas before." Lara-Jo shrugged.

"If you end up at one of the casinos stick to the slot machines." Sara advised.

"I'm from Texas; I can play Texas hold 'em." Lara-Jo pointed out.

"And Mrs Krackener had to call me to and pick her up from school when she was thirteen from running a game during the lunch break." Erin eyed her daughter.

"It's not my fault that the boys couldn't bluff to save their lives." Lara-Jo stated.

"Still stick with the slots." Sara managed to get up from the couch.

She said goodbye to everyone and went to bed.

"So the fish is still alive." Nick said trying to think of something to say as he sat down in the seat Sara had vacated.

"We noticed." Carrie stated. "The place looks good."

"The ceiling looks better now that it doesn't have a giant hole in it from where my stalker fell through it; it had this straight pattern on it before." Nick agreed.

"Nick we've seen the place since then." Erin reminded him. "You sent us pictures."

"I mean it looks more like a home than a bachelor pad."

"Sara likes clutter it helps her think."

CSI CSI

Sara sat on the couch in the break room cushions propped up around her; she only had another two weeks before she went on maternity leave. The computer they used to run fingerprints was down so she was sat reading through some lab results and condensing them into conclusions a jury could understand for the trials that the team had to testify on over the next few weeks.

"Hey Sara." Greg walked in.

"I want a word with you Sanders." Sara told him.

"What did I do now?" Greg inquired.

"You told Nick you'd take my son to a strip show?"

"When he was old enough." Greg stated.

"If you even think about it I'll shoot you and make it look like an accident." Sara told him.

"Sara this is Vegas." Greg pointed out.

"And if he thinks of going to a casino or getting drunk before he's twenty one I have no problem having him arrested."

"You'd have your kid arrested?"

"My father was an alcoholic and my mother is a murderer, what do you think?"

"Right, no taking him to a strip club. What about Nick?"

"You want to take Nick to a strip club?" Sara queried.

"It's for a case." Greg explained.

"I can stop him going for a case." Sara set the files down and shuffled to get up.

"Where are you going?"

"The octopus inside me decided to kick my bladder." Sara replied.

"Nice to describe your son as an octopus."

"Well I feel like a beached whale, I thought I'd stick with the ocean analogy."

"It's really that bad?" Greg asked.

"He doesn't have that much room in there any more." Sara rubbed her stomach. "Excuse me."

TBC


	152. Chapter 152

When Sara finally went on maternity leave she was grateful. Manoeuvring around the lab was exhausting and she didn't get much work done.

Sara who pre-pregnancy was a workaholic was more than happy to sit around with her feet up doing as little as possible, while she waited for it to all be over.

"Have you got everything you need?" Nick asked as he prepared to leave for work.

"Yes." Sara replied.

"I don't know what time I'll be home, I have to be at the court by 9 and these things…"

"Take as long as they take." She finished for him. "It's okay."

"I'll leave my pager on, call me if anything happens."

"There is unfortunately another week to go."

"As Mom says babies come on their own schedules."

"I'll page you if I'm certain I'm in labour and it's not just those stupid Braxton-hicks things." Sara assured him.

"Good." He gave her a kiss goodbye. "Goodbye kid." He kissed the bump and got a kick for his effort.

"Great now you woke him." Sara sighed.

"Sorry."

"Have a good night and good luck with court."

CSI CSI

"The people call Nicholas Stokes to the stand." The DA announced to the court.

Nick walked in and up to the front.

"Please raise your right hand." The court clerk requested. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

"I do."

"Please be seated."

Nick took his seat.

"Can you state your full name and occupation for the record?"

"Nicholas Stokes, Crime Scene Investigator for the Clark County Police Department." Nick replied.

"Mr Stokes." The DA said as Nick's pager beeped.

"I suggested you switch that off Mr Stokes, unless you want to be found in contempt of court." The judge advised him.

"Sorry your Honour." Nick apologised looking at the message. "My wife has just gone into labour."

The judge mellowed slightly, his daughter was due to have her baby the following month.

"First baby?" He asked.

"Yes your Honour."

"Approach." The judge beckoned the two lawyers.

"Your Honour?" The DA asked.

"Mr Howard, do you have anymore witnesses if I grant the witness a 48 hour pass to go and be with his wife?"

"Yes your honour."

"This is highly unusual." The defence attorney protested.

"Mr Dickenson, this trial is going to last at least two months, I think we can excuse a witness for 48 hours, to go and be with his wife since she is in labour." The judge told him. "Step back."

The two lawyers stepped back to their seats.

"Members of the jury I am going to excuse this witness for forty-eight hours, Mr Howard will bring in another witness, I don't want you to take an inference this as the witness has yet to answer any other questions other than confirming his name and occupation." He paused. "Mr Stokes two days."

"Thank you Your Honour." Nick told him.

"Good luck. The witness may step down."

Nick left his seat and whispered a quick apology to the DA and left.

He read the message which said Sara had left a voicemail on his cell phone with more details.

Nick checked it.

Sara cursed several times, and told him that it was all happening very quickly she had called Warrick to give her a ride to the hospital.

She was definitely in labour the doctor said it might be a couple hours.

Nick headed straight for his car to head to the hospital only to be stuck in traffic.

TBC

A/N: Sorry for the delay I've been working earlies all week and I've been pretty much asleep by 9.30pm all week which gives me about four hours after I get home and not a lot of time for writing.


	153. Chapter 153

A/N: Sorry for the delay I've been on lates all week and I haven't had

It took Nick almost an hour to get to the hospital. Since they had already had the hospital tour he knew exactly where he was going.

Nick found Warrick sat on a chair rubbing a bandaged hand.

"Hey." Nick said.

"You made it." Warrick looked up. "She was worried that you'd switched your pager off while you in court."

"It went off just after I was sworn in."

"How come you're here?" Warrick looked at his watch.

"Judge gave me a 48 hour pass." Nick replied. "What happened to your hand?"

"Your wife made a good attempt at breaking it." Warrick explained. "She's been a lot more congenial since they gave her the drugs."

"Can I go in?"

"The doctor is in there now so I'd wait until he comes out." Warrick suggested. "And I'd loose the tie and jacket otherwise she's liable to strangle you."

"Thanks for bring her here." Nick told him.

"It's no problem bro. You scared?"

"Petrified."

"If it helps any I have a date with the nurse who bandaged my hand tomorrow night."

"Now I feel better." Nick replied sarcastically.

"The doctor said it wouldn't be more than a few hours, it was going pretty quickly."

"Are you sticking around?" Nick inquired.

"I don't have anywhere else to be."

"Right." Nick sat back against the wall.

"Mr Brown." A man dressed in scrubs came out of the room. "She wants you to find her husband and that's the polite version."

"That would be me." Nick spoke up.

"I'm Doctor Eustess."

"What happened to the other doctor?" Nick inquired.

"Vacation." The Doctor replied.

"How's it going?" Nick asked.

"It's all moving along very quickly for a first baby. I expect you should have a baby within next ninety minutes. You should go in and see her, her language is very colourful."

"Sounds about right. Thanks Doc."

"I'll be back to check on her in half an hour."

"Good luck." Warrick patted Nick on the back.

"Thanks man."

Nick entered the room.

"Hey darlin' I heard the party started without me." Nick joked.

Sara glared at him.

"Not a good time for jokes I see."

"Where the hell have you been?" Sara demanded.

"I was in court and had just been sworn in when you page me. The judge gave me a 48 hour pass, and then I got stuck in traffic. How are you doing?"

"How the hell do you think I'm doing?"

"Drugs didn't work?" Nick guessed.

"He said it was moving too fast for an epidural so they gave me something to take the edge of the contractions." Sara explained.

"I'm guessing you'd prefer something strong since you almost broke Warrick's hand."

"It didn't break it's just a little bruised."

"I know, he got a date with a nurse out of it."

"I'm glad my pain is working out for him."

"It will be worth it in the end." Nick assured her.

"Don't worry I have plenty of ways to kill you if you ever lay a hand on me again." Sara told him as another contraction hit.

"It's okay; just breathe through it like we learnt in class."

"Be grateful I don't have a gun."

TBC


	154. Chapter 154

"Okay Sara, I need you to give me one more big push." The doctor told her.

"I'm trying." Sara snapped through gritted teeth.

"Okay baby is here." The doctor smiled as the baby let out a wail. "A baby girl."

"You did great darlin'." Nick kissed the top of Sara's head. "Hang on did you say girl?" Nick looked at the doctor.

"Yes. Do you want to cut the cord?"

Nick cut the cord and they handed they baby to Sara.

"She looks like you." Nick commented. "I guess we're going to have to come up with a name."

"Elizabeth." Sara replied.

"Elizabeth?" Nick repeated.

"You don't have one in your family and she looks like a Lizzie."

"Okay." Nick agreed.

A pain hit Sara.

"Take her." She handed Lizzie to Nick.

"Are you okay?" Nick was concerned. The nurse took the baby from him.

"No." Sara cussed. "It was supposed to stop hurting this much."

"Breathe through it." the doctor instructed. When the contraction ended he examined her. "We may have been wrong."

"Yeah, she's a girl."

"Nick!" Sara muttered. "I don't think that's what he meant."

"She's right. It looks like you're having twins after all."

"Twins?" Nick went white.

"Can we focus?" Sara asked.

"It looks you're going to get the boy you were expecting after all and this one is going to be just as quick."

"Twins." Nick repeated before passing out with a crash on the floor.

"Nick!" Sara said as another contraction hit.

"We'll take care of him; focus on the contractions because in another minute or two you're going to need to start pushing again."

CSI CSI

Warrick looked up when the door opened. Nick walked out with a band aid on his forehead.

"Did she get you too?" Warrick joked.

"No." Nick walked over and sat down.

"Everything okay? Sara and the baby?"

"They're fine. They're all fine." Nick sighed.

"So what are you calling him how much did he weigh?"

"Benjamin Isaiah and 6lbs 2oz." Nick replied.

"Given how big Sara got you would think he would have weighed more than that."

"It was twins."

"Twins?" Warrick repeated. "What is the other one?"

"A girl. Sara wants to call her Elizabeth, apparently she looks like a Lizzie; I just think she looks like Sara."

"How much…"

"6lbs exact."

"Congratulations buddy." Warrick slapped his back. "How's Sara?"

"Exhausted and worried because we only have one car seat and we need to take the stroller back and swap it for a double one and practically everything we bought was blue."

"I called Catherine; she's on her way over here. We'll pop in and say hello, then we'll take the stroller back for you and get another car seat and buy the store out of pink clothes for you." Warrick told him.

"Thanks."

"Shouldn't you be in there?"

"They wanted me to give them a few minutes and the nurse had to put a band aid on my cut."

"You passed out didn't." Warrick realised.

"No-one else needs to know that." Nick stated.

"I guess it runs in the family." Warrick smiled. "And I owe Sara five bucks."

"What?"

"We made a bet on whether you'd pass out or not on the way over here."

TBC


	155. Chapter 155

"Hey." Nick said as he crept in the door of the room Sara had been moved into from the delivery room.

"Hey." She was sat looking between the twins who were both in separate hospital bassinets.

"Everything okay?"

"I want to hold one, but…" She trailed off.

"How about we each hold one and we can trade off later?" Nick suggested.

"Okay."

Nick carefully handed her Ben, before taking Lizzie in his arms.

"She's so tiny." Nick said lifting his daughter's hand with his little finger.

"Trust me she didn't feel so tiny when she was coming out, neither of them did."

"So twins huh?" Nick looked at her.

"How are we going to cope with this?" Sara asked.

"One day at a time like everyone else." Nick replied.

"I think I'm still in shock. If they told us before then…"

"Apparently she is a little camera shy." Nick smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Other than sore and exhausted. Is it crazy I love them so much already?"

"No." Nick replied. "I'm really proud of you."

It suddenly dawned on Sara.

"You're supposed to be in court."

"The Judge gave me a forty-eight hour pass since I hadn't actually started testifying other than confirming my name. Trust me I'm where I'm supposed to be."

Sara straightened Ben's hat.

"Did Warrick…" Sara started to ask.

"He called Catherine so he's waiting for her to get here before he comes in, then he's going to get her to go shopping with him."

"Good." She yawned. "She's going to need a middle name."

"Well technically it's not compulsory." Nick tightened his grip as Lizzie wriggled.

"Just pick something."

"How about Jessica?" He suggested.

"Elizabeth Jessica Stokes." Sara said it out loud. "I like it."

"How is everyone in here?" The nurse walked in.

"Okay, I think." Sara replied.

"They will probably be hungry in a few minutes, so here are the bottles we discussed."

"I thought you were going to breastfeed at least for the first few months." Nick queried.

"That was before we had twins." Sara replied. "We'll figure it out when I'm not so tired."

"Do you need me to talk you through it?" The nurse asked.

"I have plenty of nieces and nephews we can figure it out." Nick assured her.

"Press the buzzer if you need anything."

If on cue the twins started to fuss.

"I guess that means they're hungry."

"That would be a good guess." Nick confirmed.

CSI CSI

"Do we know anything?" Catherine asked when she walked up to Warrick.

"It's twins." Warrick replied.

"Twins?"

"Boy and a girl." Warrick confirmed. "They need us to go shopping for them."

"Wow how's Sara doing?"

"Nick says she's fine. I was waiting on you before I went to see them."

"What room are they in?"

"703." Warrick replied.

"Let's go and visit." Catherine encouraged.

"Ladies first."

TBC


	156. Chapter 156

"What happened to your wrist and where is Nick?" Grissom asked as he walked into the break room with Greg following him.

"They both require the same explanation." Warrick replied.

"You got into a fight with Nick?" Greg questioned.

"Sara had twins this morning and tried her best to break my hand while we were waiting for Nick to arrive."

"Twins?" Greg stated.

"Ben and Lizzie." Catherine replied. "They are really cute."

"It explains why she was so fat." Greg said.

"Greg don't mention that around Sara if you want to live." Warrick advised.

"Nick's going to want to take a few days off, although he has to be back in court at 9 am on tomorrow." Catherine said. "Judge gave him a pass."

CSI CSI

"Is everything okay Mrs Stokes?" One of the nurses walked up to Sara.

"I'm just looking."

"It can be a lot to take in." The nurses understood. It was almost one am and Sara had been stood watching the twins sleep in the nursery for the past thirty minutes.

Nick had been kicked out when visiting hours had ended at 8.

"Tell me about it. I was only expecting one."

"Is there a history of twins in your family?" The nurses asked.

"Not on my side, but my husband has twin sisters and one of those has twin boys."

"Did you want them brought to your room?" The nurse offered.

"No. Don't disturb them. I just want to watch for a while."

"You should go back to bed soon; it's the middle of the night."

"I work graveyard, I'm used to being up at this time of night."

"You learn very quickly when you have a baby to get sleep when you can. That goes doubly for twins."

"I'll go back to bed soon I promise." Sara assured her. "I just need a few minutes."

"Okay."

CSI CSI

"Yes Mom, I'm still sorry for not calling you right away but I was a little busy." Nick apologised to his mother for the tenth time. "Yes I've sent you the pictures and yes I'll see what I can do about picking you up, but I have to testify in court tomorrow and then Sara and the twins are coming home tomorrow afternoon…. Yes Mom I know…. I'll talk to you later." Nick sighed.

Nick gathered up everything and headed to the hospital.

When he reached Sara's room he found it empty.

"Have you seen my wife?" He asked one of the nurses. "Sara Stokes."

"She's probably down at the nursery again."

"Thanks." Nick walked towards the nursery.

When he got there he found Sara dressed in pyjamas, a robe and slippers stood next to Greg looking through the glass.

"Hey." He whispered in Sara's ear before kissing her cheek.

"I was expecting you an hour ago."

"Mom was complaining that I didn't call her until late last night to let her know she has two more grandchildren. She'll be here sometime tomorrow."

"Okay." Sara replied.

"He does look like you." Greg stated.

"That's good." Nick smiled.

"And she looks like Sara."

"How've they been since they kicked me out?"

"Mostly asleep although there was a lot of screaming in between." Sara replied.

"The nurse said she spent most of the night down here." Greg told Nick.

"They would have brought them to your room." Nick ran a hand down her arm.

"I know."

"I'll talk to the nurse." Nick told her. "Why don't you head back to your room?"

"Okay." Sara took a glance at her kids. "Come on Greg."

"Yes _Mom_."

TBC


	157. Chapter 157

Sara sat on her hospital bed watching. Greg had her son, while Nick held their daughter. She contemplated how everything had changed in the last forty-eight hours and she tried to restrain herself from snatching her children back from the men who held them.

Sara pushed her legs over the side of the bed and careful got off.

"Where are you going?" Nick inquired.

"They haven't eaten in a few hours, they'll start screaming soon. I'll be back."

"Okay."

"Is she okay?" Greg asked when Sara left the room.

"She gave birth twice, and has only had about three hours of sleep since; I'd say she's allowed to be a little grumpy." Nick stated.

"Right. When've you got to be back in court?"

"Tomorrow morning." Nick replied. "Sara and the twins can come home tomorrow afternoon and at some point I have to pick my mother up at the airport."

"I could take care of that for you if you want." Greg offered.

"You want to pick my mother up?" Nick questioned.

"Why not? It's not like I don't know what she looks like."

"That would be great." Nick said. "I'll get you her flight information."

"No problem."

"What did you keep the kids and loose Sara?" Warrick appeared in the doorway.

"I hope not." Sara said from behind him.

"Hey girl." Warrick moved to let her into the room. "You look tired."

"You're good for my ego." Sara went and sat back on the bed.

"Sorry how are you feeling?"

"Sore, tired and happy."

"Good." Warrick replied. "Catherine and Grissom will be by later."

"Okay." Sara nodded. "How's your hand?"

"Sore, but I'll live. You've got one hell of a grip."

"Sorry." Sara apologised.

"You should know you have enough pink clothes to last at least a few months, Catherine also insisted on picking up lots of neutral I'm not sure what you call them."

"Thanks." Sara yawned.

"And I got a gift for you." He handed her the gift bag.

"Thanks." Sara opened the bag and pulled out a small gift box. Opening it up so found a silver locket. "It's beautiful."

"Flip it over."

There was an inscription. _Ben and Lizzie_ and their date of birth.

"Thanks Warrick."

"I figure you could find your own pictures to put in."

"Don't I get anything?" Nick asked.

"You didn't put in all the hard effort yesterday." Warrick replied winking at Sara.

"Grissom did say you could have the rest of the week off." Greg offered as a consolation.

"I was supposed to call him and ask for the time off."

"Catherine and I got it covered." Warrick assured him.

"Thanks man."

"When's your Mom arriving I can go and pick her up for you." Warrick offered.

"Greg already offered." Nick told him. "But thanks."

"Here you Mrs Stokes." A nurse brought in two bottles.

"Thank you." Sara replied.

As if on cue both babies started crying.

"I don't do crying babies." Greg went and handed Ben to Sara.

Sara tested both bottles on her wrist before passing on to Nick.

With both babies being fed they were happy.

"You seem to have got the hang of things."

"You should have seen my first attempt at putting on a diaper." Sara remarked.

"You just didn't pull it tight enough." Nick told her. "It gets easier with practice."

"You're going to have plenty of it." Warrick commented.

TBC


	158. Chapter 158

Sara stood holding Ben in her arms; Lizzie was in her car seat carrier on the floor by Sara's feet while Nick tried to fit Ben's car seat into the back of the car.

"Nick." Sara said getting fed up.

"Yeah?"

"Just take him."

"What?"

"Take him." She repeated.

Nick crawled out of the car. Sara took his place. Thirty seconds later Ben's seat was in place.

"Pass him to me."

Sara put Ben into his seat and strapped him in. She climbed out of the car, and grabbed Lizzie's car seat and strapped her in without taking her out and closed the door.

"How did you manage that?" Nick asked.

"I read the manual." Sara replied.

"You read the manual?"

"I was on maternity leave; I read everything at the house, so I started on all the baby equipment manuals. I can also take apart the oven and put it back together now."

"Please don't try that." Nick requested.

"Can we go home?" Sara asked.

"As soon as you get in the car."

CSI CSI

Nick brought both carriers and Sara's bag into the house. He set the carriers down on the coffee table, grateful that Sara had insisted they buy a heavy wooden coffee table.

Sara collapsed on the couch, shuffling the cushions.

"Comfortable?" Nick asked.

"Not really." Sara replied. "Just tired."

"I don't think that's going to change for a while."

"I'm hoping a nap will help." Sara yawned. "How did court go?"

"It went fine."

"What case was it again?" Sara asked.

Nick proceeded to tell her, but Sara was asleep. He grabbed a camera and took lots of pictures.

Nick was in the process of unstrapping Lizzie when she let out a wail.

"I'm up, I'm up." Sara sat up abruptly. "Ouch."

"Sorry." Nick apologised as he tried comfort his daughter.

"Is she okay?"

"I think she needs her diaper changing."

"I can…" Sara started.

"It's okay, I can manage." Nick assured her.

Ben woke up.

"You take him, I've got her." Nick told her.

"I didn't know how we were going to manage one."

"We'll figure it out." Nick assured her taking Lizzie to change her diaper.

"Well your Daddy seems confident." Sara picked Ben up. "I'm still trying not to drop either of you."

Ben settled in his mother's arms.

"We were expecting you, but not your big sister too." Sara continued. "You're going to have to help me out here." Sara pulled his hat on securely.

TBC


	159. Chapter 159

"Hey Nicky." Catherine said when Nick came back to work. "How are Sara and the twins?"

"Sara's exhausted. They wake up every three hours hungry, and when one wakes up they both wake up."

"It will get better." Catherine assured him. "They'll get into a routine."

"I hope so." Nick replied.

"It takes a while to adjust, doubly so with twins I would expect."

"I know." He yawned. "Just ignore it if I get lots of frantic calls from her."

"Tell her she can call me when she likes." Catherine offered.

"I will."

CSI CSI

Nick didn't get home to gone ten am, to find Sara sat on the couch feeding Lizzie, Ben was sat in the baby chair that rock. Sara had tear stains down her cheeks.

"Hey is everything okay?" Nick asked.

"I can't do this."

"You're doing great." Nick sat down next to her.

"This is the first time they've been quiet since you left."

"Catherine assures me it gets easier."

"Did she say when?" Sara asked.

"No."

Sara moved Lizzie to burp her.

"I'll do that." Nick took his daughter from his wife.

"Thanks."

"Why don't you go and get some sleep, I'll watch them."

"Are you sure?" Sara asked.

"I can manage."

"Thank you." Sara kissed him. "Wake me up if you need me."

"We'll be fine." Nick assured her.

After burying her head under a pillow Sara managed to sleep for six hours straight, the longest amount of continuous sleep she'd had since the twins were born.

She crawled out of bed and after a quick trip to the bathroom. She found an empty house.

After looking around to make sure she wasn't going crazy, she found a note.

**_If you find this note, I guess you woke up. I took the kids for a walk in the park. I thought the fresh air might help them sleep. _**

_**We'll be back soon. **_

_**Love Nick, Lizzie and Ben xx**_

Sara couldn't help but smile. She knew Nick would need to get some rest before he went to work, so she went and set about making dinner.

They had eaten a lot of take out since they got home from the hospital as it was easier, but Sara decided since she had some time to herself to make something.

"Something smells good." Nick commented when he opened the door and pushed the stroller inside. "And we need a wider door."

"We're going to need a bigger house too." Sara pointed out. "The box room was going to be fine for a few years when we thought we were having one, but with two of them."

"We'll figure something out." Nick assured her. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"I feel better." Sara admitted. "I thought after we ate you'd need to sleep since you have to be at work in seven hours."

"I got a couple hours sleep earlier." Nick admitted.

"Were they good?"

"I think spending hours crying wore them out. When we've eaten why don't you take a bath or something?" He suggested. "When you're done I'll get a few hours more sleep."

"Why are you being so nice?" Sara asked.

"I'm always nice." Nick countered.

"Nick." Sara looked at him.

"I feel guilty."

"Guilty?"

"For leaving you on your own, when I want to be here to help." Nick admitted.

"You have to do your job Nick, we have bills to pay, two kids to put through college. I'll survive maternity leave. I just have to realise that being a parent isn't something you can learn from a book, it doesn't make sense most of the time. It's permanent on the job training and we'll get there eventually, a day a time right?"

"One day a time." He agreed.

TBC


	160. Chapter 160

"Hey guys." Sara walked into the break room.

"Sara." Catherine turned they were all surprised to see her. "Not that it's not nice to see you but what are you doing here?"

"Nick went to bed with a headache and forgot to set the alarm. The kids were asleep, so I thought I'd come in and leave him at home."

"You're still on maternity leave for another six weeks." Grissom reminded her.

"I had my six week check up at the beginning of the week, the doctor says I'm fine. And honestly I need to do something where my brain is working. Only trying to remember if I've made enough bottles, have enough diapers and if I remember to do the laundry kills brain cells. And it's only for one night."

"Take a seat." Grissom told her.

"Does Nick know you've left him to play Mr Mom for the night?" Warrick asked.

"I left him a note."

"I'd love to be there when he finds out." Greg smiled.

"He's never actually been alone with them in the house before." Sara realised. "I mean I figured out how to handle feeding them both at once."

"He'll be fine." Catherine assured her. "So Grissom have you got any interesting cases for Sara's first night back?"

"Dead pirate on the pirate ship at the Treasure Island."

"Sounds good." Catherine took the slip from him.

"Warrick go with them." Grissom instructed.

"What have we got?" Greg asked.

"Something right up your street." Grissom told him.

"What?" Greg was almost excited.

"A man with a knife through his heart who drove his car into a telephone pole a block from your apartment building."

"So when you said right up my street you were being literal."

"Well almost." Grissom stated.

"Just think it will give you an opportunity to go home and change that shirt." Catherine said optimistically.

"What's wrong with this shirt?" Greg asked.

"It's pink." Sara said. "And you should wear vertical stripes rather than horizontal it will make you look taller."

"When did you two become the fashion police?" Warrick asked.

"Do you like his shirt?" Sara inquired.

"No but that's not the point."

"We have a pirate waiting for us." Catherine said. "And unfortunately it's not Captain Jack Sparrow."

Grissom looked confused.

"Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean." Greg supplied.

CSI CSI

Sara was in the process of taking wood scrapings when her cell phone rang.

"Sidle." She answered.

"_You went to work?"_

"Hi honey, how are the kids?" She asked.

"_Sara what were you thinking?"_

"That you were asleep and I needed to use my brain before it permanently turned to mush. Grissom is fine with it and it's only for one night."

"_So you just went to work and left me a note?"_

"Nick you can manage to take care of the twins for a few hours while I'm at work. I manage it."

"_I've never actually watched both of them by myself for more than an hour."_

"It's a good experience for you. You'll be fine." Sara assured him. "And you're not being a babysitter; this is just being their father."

"_How do you manage when they are both hungry?" _ Nick inquired.

"Put Ben in the bouncy chair with his pacifier while you feed Lizzie, he's a lot more laid back about it than she is. They you can swap them over. There is a CD in the CD player in the bedroom, just play it on low when you put them back to sleep. You'll have to rock Lizzie until she's completely asleep but if Ben's half asleep he usually falls back to sleep by himself."

"_They don't do that in the day."_

"When they wake up at six it's best just to get up and not go back to sleep. I'm sure you can figure out how to keep them entertained you have a whole lot more experience with kids than I do and I'll see you when I get home." She hung up.

"Sounds like you've figure out what you're doing." Catherine commented.

"It only works half the time. It does help that Ben has inherited the Texas laid back attitude to life."

TBC


	161. Chapter 161

Nick woke at the sound of the key in the door. He had fallen asleep on the couch with Ben on his chest; Lizzie was asleep in her bouncer on the floor.

Nick rubbed his eyes as he looked at his wife who had crept in through the door. Her eyes were red from where she had obviously been crying.

"Hey what happened?" Nick asked.

"I can't do it." She sank onto the couch next to him.

"Do what?" Nick inquired.

"Go back to work yet." She replied. "I missed them too much."

Nick couldn't help but chuckle which caused Ben to stir slightly.

"That's why you have more maternity leave." Nick pointed out.

"I know."

Nick glanced at the clock it was only 4am.

"Does Grissom know you came home?"

"Yes, I told him that I'd make you go in and finish the rest of the shift."

"Okay." Nick agreed. "I'll have to get dressed first."

"I'm sorry." Sara apologised.

"You thought you were being helpful." Nick kissed the top of her head as he gently handed her Ben. "Grissom will let you start back slowly if you want."

"I know."

"What's the case anyway?"

"Dead pirate on the pirate ship at the Treasure Island." Sara replied. "We finished processing the scene; I came home while Catherine and Warrick went to grab something to eat. They'll meet you back at the lab."

"Okay."

"You know they should be in bed."

"I guess we all fell asleep." Nick shrugged.

Sara followed him into the bedroom as settled Ben into his bassinet while Nick pulled on some pants.

"I probably won't be back until late this morning maybe this afternoon." Nick told her.

"It's okay." Sara replied before she went to get Lizzie.

CSI CSI

"Hey look it's our second Stokes of the night." Warrick joked.

"Funny." Nick replied.

"Sara okay?"

"I think she's better now she's at home." Nick answered. "What happened?"

"She was fine and then she burst into tears and said she had to go home." Warrick said.

"She saw a guy walking around trying to get his baby to sleep." Catherine explained. "Not that wandering the streets of Vegas outside a hotel is probably the best way to do that. She wasn't ready to come back yet, it's an adjustment."

"I could have told her that." Nick stated.

"It's probably best she found out on her own." Catherine pointed out. "By the time she has to come back she'll be better prepared."

"One thing I can say about all of this is I have a new appreciation for my mother."

"Having seven kids and a full time job is enough to make a saint out of anyone." Catherine agreed.

"So what's this case about? Sara said something about a dead pirate."

"One of the pirates in the Treasure Island show was knocked out and lashed to a post and literally went down with the ship." Warrick explained.

"A lot of our evidence was washed away." Catherine added.

"He's definitely one of the pirates from the show?" Nick asked.

"Yes. He apparently called in sick an hour before the performance according to the guy who runs the show."

"Obviously someone is lying." Nick stated. "What do you need me to do?"

"Why don't you go and see what Doc Robins has so far if anything?" Catherine suggested.

"You know when I was kid being a pirate sounded pretty cool." Nick commented.

"I thought you wanted to be a cowboy or a football star." Warrick counted.

"Wanted to be an astronaut too." Nick said.

"With the Pirates of the Caribbean movies I'd say a lot of kids want to be a pirate too." Catherine remarked. "But living in the middle of the desert presents a geographical problem."

TBC


	162. Chapter 162

"Nick sit down we need to talk."

"Sounds serious." Nick took a seat next to her on the couch.

"I go back to work in about three weeks, what are we going to do?"

"About what?" Nick inquired.

"Ben and Lizzie. We can't just leave them in the break room and hope someone goes and checks on them when they start screaming."

"I hadn't really thought about it." Nick admitted.

"Well have I came up with four options."

"What were they?"

"I quit." Sara asked.

"Do you really want to do that?"

"No, and honestly unless we suddenly hit big at a casino I doubt we can afford it."

"Okay, what else?"

"One of us switches to a different shift, so at least one of us is here with the kids and we can use the departmental day-care as a backup during the day when necessary."

"We'd never see each other."

"Then we either have to see if we can get them into one of the twenty-four hour a day daycares and have to drag them out every night or we hire someone to watch them here at night and one of us has to leave on time."

"If we can find someone the last option would probably be best, although we'd be paying them to hopefully sleep most of the time."

"We need to start looking soon, especially since I want to get them checked out." Sara pointed out.

"I know."

"Are you going to be okay with leaving them with someone?" Sara asked knowing of Nick's past.

"I don't know." Nick admitted. "But we don't have much choice."

"We could probably manage if I worked three double shifts a week for a few months." Sara suggested. "Grissom would probably go for it. On those three days you'd only be able to do your normal shifts."

"If we can find someone and you can convince Grissom, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay." Sara agreed.

CSI CSI

Sara pulled open the door and held it open with her foot as she tried to manoeuvre the double stroller through the lab door.

"Let me help you with that." A familiar voice suggested.

"Thanks Jim." Sara replied.

"So what are you doing here?" He asked once they were inside.

"I came to talk to Grissom." Sara replied.

"He's down at the prescient." Jim told her.

"I can wait until he gets back. I'll camp out in the break room."

"They're getting bigger." Jim commented looking at the twins.

"You have no idea." Sara replied.

"They grow up quickly. They'll be off to college before you know it."

"I'll be happy when they sleep for more than a couple hours straight."

"When are you back?"

"Three weeks, if I can convince Grissom to agree to my suggestion and we can find a babysitter we trust to watch them overnight."

"It's got to be tougher finding someone to cover a night shift rather than departmental day care."

"We'll figure it out. So what brings you by the lab?" Sara inquired.

"Greg. He called and said he wanted to show me something."

"Well I'll be in the break room, I'll see you later."

"It was nice to see you again."

Jim wondered through the lab until he found where Greg was.

"I'm here what did you want to show me?" Brass inquired.

"Hey Greggo have you seen…" Nick paused. "Hey Brass."

"Your wife and kids are in the break room." Jim supplied.

"Sara's here?" Nick questioned.

"She said she'd come to see Grissom. Isn't that who you're looking for?"

"No, I was looking for Archie, he seems to have vanished." Nick explained. "I think I'll go and say hello."

"He had a breakfast date he couldn't miss." Greg told Nick. "He'll be back in half an hour."

"Thanks."

TBC


	163. Chapter 163

Sara pushed the double stroller back and forth with one hand as she sat at the table reading a forensics magazine which had been left on the coffee table.

"Hey darlin'." Nick came in and gave her a kiss.

"Hey yourself." Sara smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came in to talk to Grissom but apparently he's not here and I figured it was easier to wait than to come back."

"So you're going to be here a while?"

"I'm guessing you are too." Sara said.

"Yeah." Nick agreed sitting down.

"How's your case going?" Sara inquired.

"Not too badly, you know the usual."

"Such deep conversation." Sara rolled her eyes. "Can you take a break?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I need to go to the bathroom and then I want to run and say hello to a couple people. They should hopefully stay asleep for a while."

"Go ahead."

"Thank you." Sara gave him a kiss.

Sara left him with the twins.

Nick sat for a minute keeping the stroller in motion and then got up. He moved around and saw while Lizzie was sleeping soundly Ben was actually awake happily sucking his pacifier looking around.

"Hey buddy I didn't know you were awake." Nick unstrapped him and carefully lifted him out. "You're a good boy not to wake up your sister."

Ben was happy to rest his head against his father's chest.

"Have you been a good boy for your mother while Daddy was at work?"

Ben obviously didn't respond.

Nick sat down with him.

"There you are." Warrick walked into the break room.

"Keep it down." Nick told him. Ben had fallen asleep on him.

"When did we get visitors?" Warrick asked.

"They've been here about fifteen minutes." Nick replied.

"Where's Sara?"

"She went to say hello to some people." Nick explained.

"What's she doing here anyway? Not that it's not nice to see her."

"She came in to see Grissom about what happens when she comes back to work."

"I thought she was coming back full time."

"The one problem with that is what do we do with the twins." Nick replied.

"I hadn't thought of that." Warrick sat down.

"We work nights so day care is out and there are only a couple places that do night day care which are basically a rip off."

"You'd think it would be better given the number of people who work nights in Vegas."

"I hadn't thought any of it through, but Sara apparently did."

"That's why they say women are the more practical ones. So what are you doing?"

"I guess we'll know more after Sara talks to Grissom." Nick replied.

Lizzie started to fuss.

"Can you put her pacifier back in her mouth?" Nick asked.

"Sure." Warrick walked over. "She's pretty much awake."

"She'll probably start screaming then." Nick replied. "She can be pretty loud. She likes attention."

"Hey baby girl." Warrick unstrapped her. "How about coming and showing Uncle Warrick some love?"

"I think she's a little young to be susceptible to charm."

"All the ladies love the charm." Warrick picked her up.

"She's two months old." Nick pointed out.

"She ain't crying is she?" Warrick countered.

"No." Nick had to admit.

"That's because you love me don't you beautiful?" Which landed Warrick a smile. "See I told you being charming worked."

"It's probably wind." Nick countered.

TBC


	164. Chapter 164

A/N: Sorry I got half way through this chapter and had a mental block. I've been catching up on a few episodes from the current series and the Grissom / Sara thing is slightly creeping me out.

"Hey Sara." Catherine was surprised to see her at the lab. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Grissom but he's not back yet."

"Where are the twins?"

"Nick took a break so he's watching them in the break room while I said hello to a few people."

"I think a visit from Auntie Catherine is in order." Catherine suggested.

The two women headed towards the break room.

Catherine stopped Sara.

"Look." She nodded in the right direction. Through the open door they could see both Nick and Warrick bouncing a baby each.

Catherine grabbed her cell phone and took a couple of pictures.

"You should see some of the ones I have." Sara told Catherine.

They walked into the break room.

"Having fun?" Sara asked.

"Lizzie smiled at Warrick. He thinks it's because he's charming."

"It was probably gas." Catherine walked over and took Lizzie from him. "Hey there baby girl, you've gotten bigger since I saw you last week."

"It's not surprising given how much they eat." Sara told her.

"You're looking good." Warrick commented. "You lost all that baby weight."

"I don't have time to eat." Sara stated. "And I still have ten pounds to loose but thanks for noticing."

It was another fifteen minutes before Grissom got back to the lab.

"Sara it's nice to see you." Grissom told her.

"I actually came in to see you. Do you have a couple minutes?"

"How about my office?" Grissom suggested.

Sara double checked the twins were okay with Nick and the others before she followed Grissom to his office.

"Take a seat." Grissom told her. "So to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I wanted to talk to you about when I come back to work." Sara told him.

"You've decided that you don't want to come back." Grissom guessed.

"We can't afford for me not to." Sara admitted. "I've had time to think this over, the problem is we work graveyard."

"You want to swap to days?" Grissom concluded.

"No. Nick and I would never see each other. It's just trying to find someone to watch the twins over night that we have a problem with, it's not like we have family in the area to watch them. There aren't that many overnight daycares that we would trust and…"

Sara proceeded to explain her idea to Grissom.

A/N: I know it's short. But I will update again a lot sooner.


	165. Chapter 165

"Itsy Bitsy spider climbed up the water spout, down came the rain and washed poor Itsy out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain and Itsy Bitsy spider climbed up the spout again." Nick sang to the twins.

The door opened.

"Hey look it's Mommy." Nick smiled.

"Hey babies, I missed you."

"How'd the first day back go?" Nick inquired.

"Do I have to go back again?" Sara groaned as she picked Ben up.

"Only if we want them to go to college."

"Community college is good right?"

"Says the woman who went to Harvard."

"It will get easier right?" Sara asked.

"Hopefully. If this doesn't work we can figure something else out."

"How were they for Mrs Gusten?"

"She said they woke up a couple of times, but they were pretty good. She also said to call her Mary."

"You think she'll work out?" Sara asked.

"She seems good with them and she gets to sleep most of the time which works for her."

Mary Gusten was a former nurse, who at 55 had taken early retirement to nurse her husband through cancer which had eventually killed him.

She worked weekends in a retirement home and appreciated the extra money she earned watching the twins three or four nights a week.

Sara and Nick had using their police sources done an extensive background check but she had checked out in all fifty states.

"Are we doing the right thing?"

"We're doing what we need to do." Nick replied. "If there are any problems we'll figure it out along the way."

"You're remarkable calm about this." Sara pointed out.

"I've been home for six hours." Nick countered.

"One day at a time right?"

"One day at a time." Nick agreed.

CSI CSI

"So you've been back a month how does it feel now?" Catherine asked Sara as they worked a scene.

"I still feel guilty every time I leave." She admitted. "But it's a necessary part of life and I still get to spend most of the day with them 4 days a week."

"It's more than some parents do. They drop the baby off with the nanny and only see them when it's convenient. Which is leaves us with the question why is this nanny dead."

"I don't see a bullet or stab wound." Sara surveyed the body that was laying on the nursery floor.

"All that blood had to come from somewhere." Catherine started taking pictures. "David will hopefully be able to tell us more when he gets here."

"Did I hear my name mentioned?" David walked in.

"Hey David." Sara smiled.

"Does she have a name?" David inquired as he went to examine her.

"Lorna Doone, 26." Catherine supplied.

"Seriously?" David questioned.

"Says so right on her drivers licence."

"So time of death?" Sara inquired.

"Rigor hasn't started to set in, so only a few hours." He replied.

"When you're ready can you turn her over so we can see what we're looking for that made her bleed out?" Sara inquired.

"Sure." David agreed. "How are the twins doing?"

"Getting bigger everyday and trying to roll over. They're also starting to teeth."

"I'm guessing Mary likes watching them even more now."

"Mary is great." Sara stated.

TBC


	166. Chapter 166

A/N: This may be an abrupt ending but, my inspiration seems to have gone. This started out as a one shot and like many of my fics ended up as an epic. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with it and to everyone who has reviewed.

"Hey Sara are you coming?" Nick stuck his head in the door of the lab that Sara and Warrick were in processing.

"Is it that time already?" Sara glanced at her watch.

"Going somewhere?" Warrick asked.

"I'll be back in a couple hours." Sara assured him.

"Where exactly are you going?"

"It's the kids first day at school." Nick explained.

"School." Warrick repeated. "Time really does fly."

"Tell me about it."

"Next thing you'll know you'll be trying to keep the boys away from Lizzie and worrying about Ben knocking up a girl."

"Gee thanks Warrick." Sara swatted his arm. "Some uncle you make."

"Hey you know they love me."

"I know." Sara sighed. "Let's go."

Nick was already ruminating Warrick's comment.

"Nick?" Sara said when he didn't move. "Hey cowboy." She waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Huh?" He shook out of it.

"Time to go." Sara told him.

"What?"

"We have two little people at home who have to go to school." Sara reminded him.

"Right."

CSI CSI

"Mommy!" Lizzie ran up to Sara as she came in the door.

"Hey baby." Sara swept her up into her arms.

"Hey Daddy." Lizzie smiled at her father.

"Hey honey." Nick kissed her forehead. "Where's your brother?"

"Trying to do up his shoelaces." Lizzie replied.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Sara inquired.

"Mrs Gusten is going to make us pancakes." Lizzie told her excitedly.

"Mommy! Daddy!." Ben ran out of their room to join them.

"Hey squirt." Nick picked him up.

"Morning Mary." Sara smiled at her when she followed.

"Morning." Mary replied.

"Did they behave themselves?"

"Didn't hear a peep out of them until about half an hour ago." She replied. "They need to brush their teeth before breakfast. I was going to make pancakes."

"You heard Mrs Gusten go and brush your teeth." Sara said setting Lizzie down Nick followed suit with Ben. Once they ran to the bathroom. "I'll go and make their lunches."

CSI CSI

Sara swiped a tear from her cheek as she watched them run into their class.

"Hey they'll be okay." Nick assured her.

"I know." Sara replied.

"They'll call us if there is a problem and we can come and pick them up in a few hours."

"I know. We did well with them."

"Well they can read, write their names and count to a hundred. I think we did fine." Nick kissed her forehead.

"Okay, let's go back to work that will distract me for a few hours."

"After you darlin'."

THE END


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